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THE 

UNITED STATES 

PATENT LAW. 

INSTRUCTIONS 

How to Obtain Letters Patent 

FOR NEW INVENTIONS: 

Including a Variety of Useful Information concerning 
the Rules and Practice of the Patent-Office ; How 
to Sell Patents; How to secure Foreign Pat- 
ents ; Forms for Assignments and Licenses ; 
together with engravings and descrip- 
TIONS of the Condensing Steam-En- 
gine, and the Principal Mechan- 
ical Movements, Valuable 
Tables, Calculations, 
Problems, etc., etc. 

by 

MUNN & CO,, Solicitors of Patents, 

No. 37 Park Row, New- York. 



PUBLISHED BY MUNN & CO., AT THE OFFICE OF THE 
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, 

No. 37 i>a.rk: ROW. 
1865. 

JOHN A. QKAr & QRESN, PRINTERS. 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1S65, by 

MUNN & CO., 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the 

Southern District of New- York. 






HOW TO INVENT. 




F we were asked to point out 
the course of life, business, or 
enterprise upon which any man 
of ordinary gifts might enter, 
with the best prospects of 
speedy success, we should un- 
hesitatingly direct him to in- 
vention. Many and wonderful 
have been the achievements of 
modern genius. But the realm 
of invention is absolutely ex- 
haustless, and only its outer 
edges have been explored. The 
world has yet to witness the 
most astounding triumphs of mind over matter. 

It is a popular error to suppose that much knowledge, 
painful effort, constant disappointment, and many weari- 
some failures are the necessary preliminaries to an invent- 
or's success. True, there are individual examples of this 
kind ; they are exceptions. 

It may be affirmed as the general rule, that inventors 
make money more quickly, more easily, and with less ex- 
penditure of thought, capital, or labor, than any other class 
of men. 

It may also be affirmed that industrial enterprises and 
speculations which are connected with the development and 
introduction of new inventions are among the most sure and 
profitable investments that can be made. 

The readiest way to invent is to keep thinking. In order 
to supply the mind with a constant succession of subjects, 
the inventor should cultivate habits of observation. Keep 
your eyes and ears open. Examine things about you, and 
seek to know how they are made, and how improved. 

The young inventor should acquire a knowledge of the 
general laws and principles of natural philosophy, chem- 
istry, and all of the sciences. 



SMALL INVENTIONS MOST PROFITABLE. 



Leisure hours might be occupied with drawing and with 
books suggestive of improvements. To avoid waste of 
time in reproducing old devices, the inventor should be 
well posted in regard to inventions that have already been 
patented. For this purpose, an attentive study of The Sci- 
entific American will be almost indispensable. 

The Boston Journal makes the following useful remarks: 
" Of course, in order to succeed, a new invention must be 
superior to any thing that has preceded it, and must be sold 
at a price that will enable it to be brought into general use. 

People cannot afford to throw away old implements unless 
the new ones are enough better to make up for the loss. 
Let inventors produce a good article, at a moderate price, 
and thev will be sure of success." 



SMALL INVENTIONS MOST PROFITABLE. 

In t an official report of a Chief Examiner of the United 
States Patent Office, we find the following : " A patent, if 
it is worth any thing, when properly managed, is worth and 
j can easily be sold for from ten to fifty thousand dollars. 
These remarks only apply to patents of minor or ordinary 
value. They do not include such as the telegraph, the 
planing-machine, and the rubber patents, which are worth 
millions each. A few cases of the first kind will better il- 
lustrate my meaning. 

"A man obtained a patent for a slight improvement in 
straw-cutters, took a model of his invention through the 
Western States, and after a tour of eight months, returned 
with forty thousand dollars in cash, or its equivalent. 

"Another inventor obtained extension of a patent for a ma- 
chine to thresh and clean grain, and sold it, in about fifteen 
months, for sixty thousand dollars. A third obtained a 
patent for a printer's ink, and refused fifty thousand dollars, 
and finally sold it for about sixty thousand dollars. 

" These are ordinary cases of minor invention, embracing 
no very considerable inventive powers, and of which hun- 
dreds go out from the Patent Office every year. Experience 
shows that the most profitable patents are those which con- 
tain very little real invention, and are to a superficial ob- 
server of little value." 



HOW TO OBTAIN PATENTS. 




HOW TO OBTAIN PATENTS. 

HE first inquiry that presents itself 
to one who has made any improve- 
ment or discovery is : " Can I ob- 
tain a Patent ?" A positive answer 
can only be had by presenting a 
complete application for a Patent 
to the Commissioner of Patents. 
An application consists of a Model, 
Drawings, Petition, Oath, and full 
Specification. Various official rules 
and formalities must also be ob- 
served. The efforts of the invent- 
or to do all this business himself 
are generally without success. Af- 
ter a season of great perplexity and 
delay, he is usually glad to seek 
the aid of persons experienced in patent business, and have 
all the work done over again. The best plan is to solicit 
proper advice at the beginning. 

If the parties consulted are honorable men, the inventor 
may safely confide his ideas to them ; they will advise whe- 
ther the improvement is probably patentable, and will give 
him all the directions needful to protect his rights. 

We (Muxx & Co.) have been actively engaged in the 
business of obtaining patents for about twenty years. Many 
thousands of inventors have had benefit from our counsels. 
More than one third of all patents granted are obtained by us. 
Those who have made inventions and desire to consult 
with us, are cordially invited to do so. We shall be happy 
to see them in person at our office, or to advise them by 
letter or through The Sciextific Americax. In all cases 
they may expect from us an honest opinion. For such con- 
sultations, opinion, and advice, we make no charge. A pen- 
and-ink sketch and a description of the invention should 
be sent, together with stamps for return postage. Write 
plain ; do not use pencil nor pale ink ; be brief. 

All business committed to our care, and all consultations, 
are kept by us secret and strictly confidential. Address 
Munn & Co.", 37 Park Row, New- York. 



SPECIAL EXAMINATIONS. 



SPECIAL 




EXAMINATIONS. 

Fee $5. 



N many cases it will be advisable, as 
a measure of prudence, to order a 
Preliminary Examination. This 
consists of a special search, made 
at the U. S. Patent Office, Wash- 
ington, through the medium of our 
house in that city, to ascertain whe- 
ther, among all the thousands of 
patents and models there stored, 
any invention can be found which 
is similar in character to that of 
the applicant. On the completion of this special search we 
send a written report of the result to the party concerned, 
with suitable advice. Our charge for this service is $5. 

If the device has been patented, the time and expense 
of constructing models, preparing documents, etc., will, in 
most cases, be saved by means of this search ; if the in- 
vention has been in part patented, the applicant will be en- 
abled to modify his claims and expectations accordingly. 
Many other obvious advantages attend Preliminary Ex- 
amination, although the strictest search does not always 
enable the applicant to know absolutely, whether a patent 
will be granted. 

For example, applications for patents are sometimes re- 
jected because the Examining Officer finds a description of 
the alleged invention in some foreign publication ; or some 
other person has been previously rejected on an analogous 
device ; or some other invention, for a similar purpose, 
partially resembles the applicant's in its construction ; or 
the Government makes an unjust or uncommon decision. 
Against none of these contingencies does the Preliminary 
Examination provide. 

It will, however, generally inform the applicant whether 
an improvement similar to his, and used for the same pur- 
pose, has ever been patented in this country. 

Parties desiring the Preliminary Examination are request- 
ed to remit the fee, (85,) and furnish us with a sketch or 
photograph, and a brief description of the invention. 



GENERAL INFORMATION. 




Where examination is wanted upon more than one inven- 
tion, $5 for each must be sent ; as each device requires a 
separate, careful search. Address Muxx & Co., 37 Park 

Row, N. Y. 

OTHER INFORMATION. 

If you wish for general information 
as to the rules and law of Infringe- 
ments, Reissues, Claims, etc., state your 
inquiries clearly, and remit $5. Opin- 
ions in special cases of Infringement 
cost more. See page 16. 

If you wish for advice in regard to 
assignments, or upon the rights of par- 
ties under assignments, joint ownership in patents, con- 
tracts, or licenses, state the points clearly upon which in- 
formation is wanted, and remit $5. 

If you desire to know in whose name the title to a Pat- 
ent is officially recorded, at Washington ; or if you wish 
for an abstract of all the deeds of transfer connected with 
a Patent, send us the name of the patentee, date of patent, 
etc., and remit $5. 

If you desire a sketch from the drawings of any Patent, 
and a description from the specification, give the patentee's 
name, date of the patent, and remit $5. 

If you desire to have an assignment ot a Patent, or any 
share thereof, or a license, made out in the proper manner, 
and placed on record, give us the full names of the parties, 
residences, title of the invention, etc., and remit $5. This 
includes record fee. 

Inventions or shares thereof may be assigned either be- 
fore or after the grant of a patent. Agreements and con- 
tracts in regard to inventions need to be recorded, like as- 
signments, at Washington. For any agreement or contract 
that you wish prepared, remit $5. 

%W* Remember that we (Munn k Co.) have branch-offices 
in Washington, and have constant access to all the public 
records. We can therefore make for you any kind of search, 
or look up for you any sort of information m regard to Pat- 
ents, or Inventions, or Applications for Patents, either pend- 
ing or rejected, that you may desire. 




HOW TO FILE CAVEATS. 



CAVEATS. 

The filing of a Caveat is often- 
times of great importance, as it may 
be quickly done, and affords a limit- 
ed but immediate protection. The 
filing of a Caveat prevents, during 
its existence, the issue of a patent, 
without the knowledge of the Cave- 
ator, to any other person for a simi- 
ar device. The Caveator is entitled 
to receive official notice, during a 
period of one year, of any other pe- 
tition for a patent for a similar or 
interfering invention, filed during 
that time. On receiving such offi- 
cial notice, the Caveator is required 
to complete his own application 
within three months from the date 
of the notice. 

A Caveat consists of a Specification, Drawing, Oath, and 
Petition. To be of any value, these papers should be 
carefully drawn up, and the official rules scrupulously com- 
plied with. No model is required. Our facilities enable us 
to prepare Caveat-papers with great dispatch. 

When specially desired, we can have them ready to send to 
the applicant, for signature and affidavit, by return mail, or 
at an hour's notice. The official fee for a Caveat is $10, 
and we generally charge $10 or $15 to prepare the accom- 
panying papers and attend to the business — making $20 or 
$25 in all. 

A Caveat runs for a year, and can be extended by paying 
$10 a year. 

Caveats can only be filed by citizens of the United States, 
and aliens who have resided here one year and have de- 
clared their intention to become citizens. 

To enable us to prepare Caveat papers, all that we need 
is a sketch, drawing, or photograph, and description of the 
invention, with which remit fees as above. Model not re- 
quired. 



HOW TO OBTAIN" PATENTS. 




PATENTS. 

The Government fee, on fil- 
ing an application for a patent, 
is $15. English, French, Ger- 
man, Prussian, Austrian, Span- 
ish, and inventors of every na- 
tionality, may now obtain patents 
in the United States upon the 
same terms as our own citizens. 
Patents are also granted to 
women. The only discrimina- 
tion made is against inhabitants 
of countries that discriminate 
against the inhabitants of the 
United States. 

To the foregoing official fees must be added the attorney's 
fee for preparing the various documents and drawings. 
Our charge for preparing a case, presenting it to Govern- 
ment, and attending to all business connected with it, until a 
decision is given, is generally $25 ; but the charge is higher 
if unusual labor is involved. Government stamps, $1. 
Total ordinary expense to apply for a patent, $41 ; and 
this sum is lost if the patent is refused. If the patent is 
allowed, a second Government fee of $20 must be paid — 
making the whole expense $61. 

In case of the death of an inventor, his heirs may obtain 
a patent. 

Joint inventors are entitled to a joint patent. 
An agreement or partnership between two persons, one 
of whom is the inventor, cannot make them joint appli- 
cants for a patent. 

The application for a patent must be made in the name 
of the inventor ; but the patent may be issued to the as- 
signee of the inventor. 



Keep clear of law ; for, even if you gain your case, you 
are generally a loser. 

Let your expenses be such as to leave a balance in your 
pocket. Heady money is a friend in need 



10 



REJECTED APPLICATIONS. 




REJECTIONS. 

FTER an application for a pa + 
has been filed in Washington, 
Commissioner of Patents ii 
tutes a rigid examination to 
termine the patentability of 
! iWb'Cvl SlillilL' . ; ; II invention claimed. If the de 

is not deemed patentable, th( 
plication is rejected. We ' 
cause a thorough invesiigatk 
be made, at Washington, intc 
reasons presented by the ( 
missioncr for refusing the pa 
In making this examination, we have access to all the d 
ings, models, books, and specifications cited in refer< 
and we report the result as early as possible to our cl 
For this service ice make no charge. 

If the rejection proves to be an unjust one — which s 
times happens — it can generally be reversed, and th< 
tent obtained by contesting the case. For this prosec 
we charge a fee proportionate to the extra labor invc 
payable on the issuing of the Patent, and arranged b< 
hand by special agreement. Models, in rejected case 
retained by the Patent Office ; except in cases wher 
return of the model is asked for the purpose of alter 
with a view to making a new application. 

Inventors who have rejected cases, prepared eith 
themselves or for them by other agents, and desire to 
tain their prospects of success by further efforts, are h 
to avail themselves of our unequalled facilities in se< 
favorable results. We have been successful in se< 
Letters Patent in hundreds of such cases. Our ten 
such services are very moderate. 



FORFEITED CASES. 

By a recent change in the Patent Law, all inventors 
whose right to a patent has been forfeited by delay in the 
payment of the second Government fee, may now renew 
their rights by filing a new application. The original model 
may be used in presenting this new application. 



ABOUT MODELS AND REMITTANCES. 



11 



MODELS, REMITTANCES, ETC. 

jERSONS who apply for pa- 
tents are by law required to 
furnish a model, in all cases 
where the invention can be 
illustrated or partly illus- 
trated by a model. The 
model must not exceed 
twelve inches in any of its 
dimensions ; it should be 
neatly made, of hard wood 
or metal, or other substan- 
tial material ; the name of 
inventor should be engraved or painted upon it con- 
uously. Where the invention consists of an improve- 
t on some known machine, or part of a machine, a full 
dng model of the whole will not be necessary. It 
ild be sufficiently perfect, however, to show, with clear- 
, the nature and operation of the invention. More than 
patent cannot be taken out on one model, 
hen the invention consists of a new article of manufac- 
or a new composition, samples of the article must be 




shed. 



)w medicines or medical compounds, and useful mix- 
ta i of all kinds, are patentable. Samples must be fur- 
n i d, and a very minute statement must be made of the 
e: ; proportions and ingredients used. 

soon as the model or specimen is ready, it should be 
c? ully boxed and shipped, by express or otherwise, to 
oi ddress, namely, Munn & Co., No. 37 Park Row, New- 
Y City. Prepay the expense, and send the express 
re )t to us by mail. 

simultaneously with the model or specimens, the invent- 
or should also send us the first instalment of the Govern- 
ment fee and stamps, $16. The money may be forwarded 
either by express, with the model, or by mail. The safest 
way to remit is by draft on New- York, payable to our order, 
or by Post-Office order. Always send a letter with the 
model, and also with the remittance, stating the name and 



12 



NEW INVENTIONS. 



address of the sender. We sometimes receive envelopes 
containing money, but without any name or explanation ; 
models are also frequently sent us from equally unknown 
sources. 

A full written description should also be sent with the 
model, embodying all the ideas of the inventor respecting the 
operation and merits of the improvement. This statement is 
often of assistance to us in preparing the specification. 

On the reception of the model and Government fee, the 
case is duly registered upon our books, and the application 
proceeded with as fast as possible. When the documents 
are ready, we send them to the inventor by mail, for his ex- 
amination, signature and affidavit, with a letter of instruc- 
tion, etc. Our fee for preparing the case is then due, and 
will be called for. Immediately on its return, the case will 
be presented to the Patent Office, and as soon as the patent 
is allowed, the applicant will be notified to remit the last 
instalment of the Government fee, namely, $20, and the 
patent will then be issued. 

Inventors who do business with us will be notified of the 
state of their application in the Patent Office, when it is 
possible for us to do so. We do not require the personal 
attendance of the inventor, unless the invention is one of 
great complication ; the business can be done as well by 
correspondence. 

The average time required to procure a patent is six 
weeks. We frequently get them through in less time ; but 
in other cases, owing to delay on the part of the officials, 
the period is sometimes extended to two or three months, 
and even more. We make a special point to forward our 
cases as rapidly as possible. 



Be neither lavish nor niggardly; of the two, avoid the 
latter. A mean man is universally despised, but public 
favor is a stepping-stone to preferment ; therefore, generous 
feelings should be cultivated. 

Never, under any circumstances, assume a responsibility 
you can avoid consistently with your duty to yourself and 
others. 



QUICK APPLICATIONS FOR PATENTS. 



13 



QUICK APPLICATIONS. 

When, from any rea" 
son, parties are desirous 
of applying for Patents 
or Caveats in great haste y 
without a moment's loss 
of time, they have only 
to write or telegraph us 
specially to that effect, 
and we will make spe- 
cial exertions. We can 
prepare and mail the 
necessary papers at less 
than an hour's notice, 
if required. 




THE 



INVENTOR MUST APPLY FOR THE 
PATENT. 
It is necessary, in all cases, that an application for a pa- 
tent should be made in the name of the inventor, and the 
petition and specification must be signed by him. An in- 
ventor may appoint an attorney, or may sell and assign all 
his interest in an invention ; still the patent papers, on mak- 
ing the application, must be signed and sworn by the in- 
ventor ; otherwise they will not be received by the Com- 
missioner of Patents. Canadians, and other foreign invent- 
ors, have erroneously supposed that by transferring their 
full rights to an American citizen, preliminary to an applica- 
tion, they could thereby obtain the patent for the same small 
fee required of a citizen. But this is impossible ; for 
the applicant is required to swear that he believes himself 
to be the first inventor. 



Remember that self-interest is more likely to warp your 
judgment than all other circumstances combined ; therefore, 
look well to your duty when your interest is concerned. 

Wine-drinking, chewing, and smoking are bad habits ; 
they impair the mind and pocket, and lead to a waste of 
time. 



14 



DESIGNS AND COPY-RIGHTS* 



PATENTS FOR DESIGNS, ETC. 

Desigjh t -Patents may be taken out 
for any new form of any article, 
also for. new tools, patterns, ornamental 
castings of machine-frames, stove-plates, 
borders, fringes ; all new designs for 
printing, weaving, or stamping upon 
silks, calicoes, carpets, oil-cloth prints, 
paper-hangings, and other articles. 
New forms for trade-marks, labels, en- 
velopes, boxes and bottles for goods, 
may also be patented ; likewise all 
works of art, including prints, paint- 
ings, busts, statues, bas-reliefs, or com- 
positions in alto, or basso-relievo, new 
dies, impressions, ornaments, to be 
placed or used upon any article of manufacture, architect- 
ural work, etc. [See page 76, section 11.] 

The term for which Design-Patents are granted varies ac- 
cording to the fee paid by the applicant, as follows : 

Patent for three and one half years, $10; patent for 
seven years, $15 ; patent for fourteen years, $30. 

No Models for Designs are required. But duplicate draw- 
ings must be furnished, together with the usual specifica- 
tion, petition, and affidavit, which, to render the patent of 
value, should be prepared with the utmost care. In many 
cases two good photographs of the Design which it is de- 
sired to patent may be used in lieu of drawings. 

Address, Munn & Co., 

37 Park Row, New-York City. 




COPYRIGHTS. 

Protection may be obtained, under the Copyright Laws, 
for designs for Trade-Marks, Labels, Stamps, etc. The 
whole business of obtaining such copyrights is done by 
Munn & Co., 37 Park Row, for $5. Remit that sum, and 
send three copies of whatever you desire to have secured. 

A copyright lasts for twenty-eight years, with privilege of 
renewal for fourteen additional years. 




GOING TO WASHINGTON IN PERSON. 15 



GOING TO "WASHINGTON IN PEKSON. 

Some inventors suppose, very 
naturally, that if personally pre- 
sent in Washington, they can get 
their cases through more expe* 
ditiously, or command other im- 
portant facilities. But this is not 
so. The journey to Washington 
is usually a mere waste of time 
and money. A good agent must 
be employed after the inventor 
gets there. No inventor can pos- 
sibly have facilities or influence 
superior to our own ; more than 
one third of the entire business of the Patent Office passes 
through our hands ; and we have an office in Washington, 
charged with the especial duty of watching over and press- 
ing forward the interests of our clients. 

The Patent Office does not prepare patent papers, or make 
models. These must be provided by the applicant or his 
attorney, according to law, otherwise his claim will not be 
considered. 

The law especially requires that all documents deposited 
in the Patent Office shall be correctly, legibly, and clearly 
written, and that the drawings shall be of a specified size, 
and executed in an artistic manner. 

Persons who visit Washington in person, can have all 
their patent business promptly attended to, by calling at 
Munn & Co.'s Branch Scientific American Office, corner 
of 7th and F streets, opposite the Patent Office. 



COPIES OP PATENTS, ASSIGNMENTS, ETC. 

We furnish full copies of specifications or drawings of 
any existing patent, or open rejected case, official letter, 
assignment, etc., etc. The expense varies from $5 to $10 
and over, according to the amount of work on the draw- 
ings. See page 7. For $1 we can send a copy of the claims 
only, of any existing patent. 



16 THE LAW OF INFRINGEMENT. 




INFRINGEMENTS. 

The general rule of law is, 
that the prior patentee is en- 
titled to a broad interpretation 
of his claims. The scope of 
any patent is therefore govern- 
ed by the inventions of prior 
date. To determine whether 
the use of a patent is an infringement of another, generally 
requires a most careful study of all analogous prior patents 
and rejected applications. An opinion based upon such 
study requires for its preparation much time and labor. 

Having access to all the patents, models, public records, 
drawings, and other documents pertaining to the Patent 
Office, we are prepared to make examinations, and give 
opinions upon all infringement questions, advice as to the 
scope and ground covered by patents, and direct with vigor 
any legal proceedings therewith connected. Address, Munn 
& Co., 37 Park Row, N. Y. 

The expense of these examinations, with written opinion, 
varies from $25 to $100 or more, according to the labor in- 
volved. See page *7. 



To the Editors of The Scientific American : 

Let me encourage you, gentlemen, in your great enter- 
prise. Perhaps we need light and elegant literature ; we 
may even need " chess columns ;" but let The Scientific 
American continue to teach the people how to realize Dean 
Swift's prayer — " Make two blades of grass grow on the spot 
where only one grew before." Let it still increase the me- 
chanical and agricultural knowledge of our artisans and far- 
mers, by publishing the latest discoveries in science and 
improvements in the arts. And then its editors will have 
the noblest reward — that of being considered the guard- 
ian angels of genius, the champions of inventors, and the 
"prime motors" employed in developing the highest phy- 
sical and intellectual resources of this great country. 

Camden, Ark. W. A. Shaw, M.D. 



OUH FOREIGN AGENCIES. 



17 




GENERAL REMARKS. 

OR over twenty years Messrs. 
Mitnn & Co. have been per- 
sonally familiar with the prog- 
ress of invention and discov- 
ery. As an evidence of the 
confidence reposed in them, 
they may with propriety refer 
to the extraordinary fact that 
nearly TWENTY THOUSAND 
PATENTS have been obtain- 
ed by them ; and through their 
efficient Branch Office in Wash- 
ington they have examined in- 
to the novelty of many thou- 
sand inventions, thus affording to them a knowledge of the 
contents of the Patent Office unrivalled by any existing 
agency. 

Not only this, but a large majority of all the patents 
secured bv American citizens in European countries are 
taken through MUNN & CO.'S AGENCIES IN LONDON, 
PARIS, BRUSSELS, BERLIN, AND VIENNA. 

In addition to the advantages which the long experience 
and great success of our firm in obtaining patents present 
to inventors, they are informed that all inventions patented 
through our establishment are noticed, at the proper time, in 
The Scientific American. This paper is read by more 
than one hundred thousand persons every week, and has 
the most extensive and influential circulation of all the 
journals of its kind in the world. 



No individual in the country can possibly have so good 
an opportunity of knowing and judging as to the extent of 
business and the qualification of patent attorneys as the 
Commissioner of Patents. Judge Mason, upon retiring 
from the office of the Commissioner of Patents, sent us the 
following very flattering written testimonial : 



18 LETTERS FROM THE COMMISSIONERS. 



COMMISSIONER MASON'S LETTER. 

Messrs. Munn & Co. : 

I take pleasure in stating that, while I held the office of 
Commissioner of Patents, more than one fourth of all the 

BUSINESS OF THE OFFICE CAME THROUGH YOUR HANDS. I have 

no doubt that the public confidence thus indicated has been 
fully deserved, as I have always observed, in all your in- 
tercourse with the office, a MARKED DEGREE o?" prompt- 
ness, skill, and fidelity to the interests of your employers. 
Yours, very truly, Chas. Mason. 



Judge Mason was succeeded by that eminent patriot and 
statesman, Hon. Joseph Holt, whose administration of the 
Patent Office was so distinguished that he was appointed 
Postmaster-General of the U. S. Hon. Mr. Holt was subse- 
quently appointed Judge-Advocate-General. He addressed 
us the following very gratifying communication : 

COMMISSIONER HOLT'S LETTER. 

Messrs. Munn & Co. : 

It affords me much pleasure to bear testimony to the 
able and efficient manner in which you discharged your du- 
ties as Solicitors of Patents while I had the honor of hold- 
ing the office of Commissioner. Your business was very 
large, and you sustained (and I doubt not justly deserved) 
the reputation of energy, MARKED ABILITY, and uncom- 
promising fidelity in performing your professional engage- 
ments. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, J. Holt. 



Hon. Wm. D. Bishop, late Member of Congress from 
Connecticut, succeeded Mr. Holt as Commissioner of Pat- 
ents. Upon resigning the office, he wrote to us as follows : 

COMMISSIONER BISHOP'S LETTER. 

Messrs. Munn & Co.: 

It gives me much pleasure to say that, during the time 
of my holding the office of Commissioner of Patents, a very 



HOW TO CONVERT PAPER INTO GOLD. 19 

large proportion of the business of inventors before the 
Patent Office was transacted through your agency ; and that 
I have ever found vou faithful and devoted to the interests 
of your clients, as well as EMINENTLY QUALIFIED to 
perform the duties of Patent Attorneys with skill and ac- 
curacy. 

Yery respectfully, your obedient servant, 

Wm. D. Bishop. 



One great reason for our unrivalled success is, that our 
affairs are so systematized and arranged under our personal 
direction, that every patent case submitted to our care re- 
ceives the most careful study during its preparation, the 
most prompt dispatch, and the most thorough attention at 
every stage of its subsequent progress. 



HOW TO CONVERT PAPER INTO GOLD. 

Send a subscription in paper money to Munn & Co., and 
enjoy a year's reading of The Scientific American. Ten to 
one that the information thus obtained will result in bringing 
into your coffers, before the year is out, a hundred times 
more money in gold, than the original investment. 




he speed of an electric spark travelling 
over a copper wire, has been ascertained 
by Wheatstone to be two hundred and 
eighty-eight thousand miles in a second. 



Parties sending models to the Scienti- 
fic American office, on which they de- 
cide not to apply for Letters Patent, and 
which they wish preserved, will please to 
order them returned as early as possible. 
We cannot undertake to store such mod- 
els, and if not called for within a reasonable time, we are 
obliged to destroy them, to make room for new arrivals. 



20 



HEAT TABLES. 



EFFECTS OF HEAT UPON BODIES. 



Fahrenheit. 
Deg. 

Cast-iron melts 2786 

Gold " 2016 

Copper " 1996 

Brass " 1900 

Silver " 18T3 

Red heat visible by day, . . 107T 
Iron red hot in twilight, . . . 884 

Common fire, 790 

Zinc melts 773 

Iron, bright red in dark,. . . 752 

Mercury boils 630 

Lead melts 612 

Linseed oil boils 600 

Bismuth melts 497 



Fahrenheit 
Deg. 

Cadmium 450 

Tin melts :.. 442 

Tin and bismuth, equal 

parts, melts 283 

Tin 3 parts, bismuth 5 parts, 

lead 2 parts, melt 212 

Sodium 190 

Alcohol boils 174 

Potassium 136 

Ether " 98 

Human blood, (heat of,). . . 98 

Strong wines freeze 20 

Brandy freezes 7 

Mercury freezes — 39 £ 



SOUND 

is the effect produced upon the ear when air is set in motion 
within certain limits of rapidity. Audible sound begins when 
about thirty-two vibrations per second are made, and ceases 
when about 8000 vibrations per second are reached. 

The number of vibrations corresponding with the middle 
C of a musical instrument is 522 per second. An octave 
below, half the number ; an octave above, twice the number. 

Sound travels at the rate of 1100 feet per second in a still 
atmosphere. The distance in feet between an observer and 
the point where a stroke of lightening falls, may be known by 
multiplying 1100 by the number of seconds that elapse after 
the flash is seen until the sound is heard. 



A MESSIEUKS LES INVENTEUKS EKAKTCAIS. 

Les inventeurs francais non familiers avec la langue an- 
glaise et qui prefereraient nous communiquer leurs inven- 
tions en frangais, peuvent nous addresser dans leur langue 
natale. Envoyez nous un dessein et une description concise 
pour notre examen. Toutes communications seront re§ues 
en confidence, Chaque personne, soit native ou etrangere, 
une seule exception, peut obtenir une patente dans les Etats 
Unis sous les memes conditions que les citoyens. On parle 
francais dans notre bureau. Munn & Co., 

37 Park Row, New-York, Scientific American Office. 



WHAT WILL PREVENT A PATENT. 21 



OFFICIAL 
RULES AND DIRECTIONS 

FOR 

Proceedings in the Patent Office. 



[The following embrace the principal official rules under 
which the business at the Patent Office is now conducted.] 

What will prevent the granting of a Patent. 

Although an applicant may have actually made an inven- 
tion, a patent therefor will not be granted him if the whole 
or any part of what he claims as new has been patented, or 
described in any printed publication in this or any foreign 
country, or been invented or discovered in this country ; 
nor if he has once abandoned his invention to the public, or 
for more than two years consented and allowed it to be an 
public use or on sale. 

The mere fact of prior invention or discovery abroad will 
not prevent the issue of the patent, unless the invention has 
been there patented, or described in some printed publica- 
tion. 

Merely conceiving the idea of an improvement or machine 
in this country is not such an " invention" or " discovery" 
as is above contemplated. The invention must have been 
reduced to a practical form, either by the construction of 
the machine itself or of a model thereof, or at least by 
making a full drawing of it, or in some other manner equal- 
ly descriptive of its exact character, so that a mechanic 
would be enabled, from the description given, to construct 
a model thereof, before it will prevent a subsequent inventor 
from obtaining a patent. 



22 THE SPECIFICATION. 

The Specification. 

Two or more distinct inventions may not be claimed un- 
der one application for letters patent. No positive rules for 
guidance can be laid down on this point ; but in general, 
where there are several parts or elements of a machine, art, 
process, manufacture, or composition of matter, having no 
necessary or dependent connection with each other, and 
each susceptible of separate and distinct use or application, 
either by itself or in other connections, all set forth and 
claimed under one application for letters patent, the office 
requires the party to divide the application and confine the 
claim to whichever invention he may elect. 

Where a principle of operation or construction is invented 
or discovered, the party is allowed to claim the principle 
broadly, and one mode of carrying it into operation. 

The specification must be signed by the inventor, (or by 
his executor or administrator, if the inventor be dead.) It 
should describe the sections of the drawings, (where there 
are drawings,) and refer by letters and figures to the different 
parts. 

The oath may be taken (in this country) before any per- 
son authorized by law to administer oaths. 

The oath may be taken in a foreign country before any 
minister plenipotentiary, charge d'affaires, consul, or com- 
mercial agent, holding commission under the government of 
the United States, or before any notary public of the coun- 
try in which the oath is taken, being attested in all cases 
by the proper official seal of such notary. 

Drawings. 

The applicant for a patent is required by law to furnish 
duplicate drawings, where the nature of the case admits of 
drawings, the office reference copy of which must be signed 
by the applicant, and attested by two witnesses. These 
should be sent with the specification. The drawings must 
be neatly and artistically executed in fast colors, on one or 
more sheets separate from the specification, the size of the 
sheets to be twenty inches from top to bottom, and fifteen 
across, this being the size of the patent. One of these 



DRAWINGS EXAMINATION. 2 3 



drawings, to be kept in the office for reference, must be on 
thick drawing-paper, sufficiently stiff to support itself up- 
right in the portfolios. Tracings upon cloth, pasted upon 
thick paper, will not be admitted. The other drawing, 
which is to be attached to the patent, must have a margin 
of one inch at least for that purpose on the right-hand side, 
and should be on tracing-muslin, which will bear folding 
and transportation, and not on paper. The drawings should 
generally be in perspective, with such detached sectional 
and plane views as to clearly show what is the invention, its 
construction and operation. All thick drawings should be 
colored and shaded, and when different materials are united 
in a machine, as steel and iron, or wood and metal, the dis- 
tinction should be indicated by different colors on the draw- 
ings. Each part must be distinguished by the same number 
or letter, whenever that part is delineated in the drawings. 
Applicants are advised to employ competent artists to 
make the drawings, which will be returned if not executed 
in conformity with these rules. Thick drawings should 
never be folded for transmission. 

Of the Examination. 

All cases in the Patent Office are arranged in classes, 
which are taken up for examination in regular rotation ; 
those in the same class being examined and disposed of, as 
far as practicable, in the order in which the respective applica- 
tions are completed. When, however, the applicant has a 
foreign patent for his invention, or when such invention is 
deemed of peculiar importance to some branch of the pub- 
lic service, and when, for that reason, the head of some de- 
partment of the government specially requests immediate 
action, the case will be taken up out of its order. These, 
with applications for reissues, are the only exceptions to 
the rule above stated in relation to the order of examina- 
tion. 

All amendments of the model, drawings, or specification 
must relate to the subject-matter originally embraced in at 
least one of them at the time of the filing of the applica- 
tion. 

The personal attendance of the applicant at the Patent 



24 PROTESTS SECRET ARCHIVES. 

Office is unnecessary. The business can be done by corre- 
spondence or by attorney. 

When an application has been finally decided, the office 
will retain the original papers, furnishing the applicant 
copies — if he desires them — at the usual expense. 

When a patent is granted, it will be transmitted to the 
patentee, or to his agent having a full power of attorney 
authorizing him to receive it. 

Protests. 

The Patent Office cannot stay the regular proceedings on 
applications for letters patent in consequence of protests 
founded upon ex parte statements, or upon affidavits from 
parties claiming to be aggrieved. 

detaining Patents in the Secret Archives. 

An application upon which a patent has been allowed 
may, at the request of the applicant, or of his assignee, 
made before the patent has been recorded, be retained in 
the secret archives of the office for a period not exceeding 
six months from the date of the order to issue 

Of Appeals. 

After an application for a patent has been twice rejected 
by the examiner having it in charge, it may, at the option 
of the applicant, be brought before the board of examiners- 
in-chief. 

For this purpose a petition in writing must be filed, signed 
by the party or his authorized agent or attorney, setting 
forth in general terms that the said applicant believes the 
rejection of his application to have been improper. 

All cases which have been acted on by the board of ex- 
aminers-in-chief may be brought before the Commissioner 
in person, upon a written request to that effect, and upon 
the payment of the fee required by law. A decision deli- 
berately made and approved by one Commissioner will not 
be disturbed by his successor. 

[The official fee for an appeal from the Examiners-in- 
Chief to the Commissioner in person, is $20. A further ap- 



APPEALS INTERFERENCES. 25 



peal may be taken from the decision of the Commissioner 
to the U. S. Court of the District of Columbia. Official fee, 
$25. Munn & Co. have had much successful experience in 
conducting these appeals. Charges moderate.] 

The mode of appeal from the decision of the office to the 
Supreme Court of the District of Columbia is by giving 
written notice thereof to the Commissioner, filing in the 
Patent Office, within such time as the Commissioner shall 
appoint, reasons of appeal, and paying to him the sum of 
twenty-five dollars. 

Of Interferences* 

When each of two or more persons claims to be the first 
inventor of the same thing, an " interference" is declared 
between them, and a trial is had before the Commissioner. 
Nor does the fact that one of the parties has already ob- 
tained a patent prevent such an interference ; for, although 
the Commissioner has no power to cancel a patent already 
issued, he may, if he finds that another person was the prior 
inventor, give him also a patent, and thus place them on an 
equal footing before the courts and the public. 

When an application is found to conflict with a caveat, 
the caveator is allowed a period of three months within 
which to present an application, when an interference may 
be declared. 

In cases of interference, patentees have the same reme- 
dies by appeal as applicants in pending applications. 

In contested cases, whether of interference or of exten- 
sion, parties may have access to the testimony on file, prior 
to the hearing, in presence of the officer in charge ; or, 
when practicable, copies may be obtained by them at the 
usual charges. 

Upon the declaration of an interference, a day will be 
fixed for closing the testimony, and a further day fixed for 
the hearing of the cause. The arguments of counsel must 
be in the office on the day of hearing. 

If either party wishes a postponement, either of the day 
for closing the testimony or of the day of hearing, he must, 
before the day he thus seeks to postpone is past, show by 
affidavit a sufficient reason for such postponement. 



26 



EULES AS TO KE-ISSUES. 



When an interference has been declared between two or 
more parties, and testimony has been taken by either of 
them, it will not be dissolved to admit a subsequent appli- 
cant ; but when an interference is pending, and a new ap- 
plication claiming the invention in controversy comes into the 
Office before any ruling shall have been taken, the interfer- 
ence will be dissolved and a new one declared, which shall 
embrace all the claimants to the same invention. 

[The management of Interferences is one of the most im- 
portant duties in connection with Patent Office business. 
Our terms for attention to Interferences are moderate, and 
dependent upon the time required. Address all letters to 
Munn & Co., No. 37 Park Row, New- York.] 

Of Reissues. 

A reissue is granted to the 
original patentee, his heirs, 
or the assignees of the entire 
interest, when by reason of 
an insufficient or defective 
specification the original pat- 
ent is invalid, provided the 
error has arisen from inadvertence, accident, or mistake, 
without any fraudulent or deceptive intention. 

An assignee or assignees making application for a re- 
issue must own the entire interest in the patent, and must 
specify the date of the assignment. 

The general rule is, that whatever is really embraced in 
the original invention, and so described or shown that it 
might have been embraced in the original patent, may be 
the subject of a reissue. 

Reissued patents expire at the same time that the original 
patent would have done. For this reason, applications for 
reissue will be acted upon immediately after they are com- 
pleted. 

A patentee may, at his option, have in his reissue a sepa- 
rate patent for each distinct part of the invention compre- 
hended in his original application, by paying the required 
fee in each case, and complying with the other requirements 
of the law, as in original applications. 




27 



Each division of a reissue constitutes the subject of a 
separate specification descriptive of the part or parts of the 
invention claimed in such division ; and the drawing may 
represent only such part or parts. 

One or more divisions of a reissue may be granted, though 
other divisions shall have been postponed or rejected. 

In all cases of applications for reissues, the original claim 
is subject to reexamination, and may be revised and re- 
stricted in the same manner as in original applications. 

But in all such cases, after the action of the Patent Office 
has been made known to the applicant, if he prefers the 
patent originally granted to that which will be allowed by 
the decision of the Office, he has the privilege of abandon- 
ing the latter and retaining the old patent. 

[The documents required for a Reissue are a Statement, 
Petition, Oath, Specification, Drawings. The official fee is 
$30. Our charge, in simple cases, is $25 for preparing and 
attending to the case. Total ordinary expense, $55. Re- 
issues may be applied for by the owners of the patent. 

By means of Reissue, a patent may sometimes be divided 
into several separate patents. Many of the most valuable 
patents have been several times reissued and subdivided. 
Where a patent is infringed and the claims are doubtful 
or defective, it is common to apply for a Reissue with new 
claims which shall specially meet the infringers. 

On making application for Reissue, the old or original 
patent must be surrendered to the Patent Office, in order 
that a new patent may be issued in its place. If the origin- 
al patent has been lost, a certified copy of the patent must 
be furnished, with affidavit as to the loss. To enable us 
to prepare a Reissue, the applicant should send to us the 
original patent, remit as stated, and give a clear statement 
of the points which he wishes to have corrected. We can 
then immediately proceed with the case. Address Munn & 
Co., 37 Park Row, New- York. We have had great expe- 
rience in obtaining Reissues.] 

Of Disclaimers. 
Where, by inadvertence, accident, or mistake, the original 
patent is too broad, a disclaimer may be filed either by the 
original patentee or by any of his assignees. 



28 RULES AS TO EXTENSIONS. 




Of Extensions. 

The applicant for an exten- 
sion must file his petition and 
pay in the requisite fee at least 
ninety days prior to the expi- 
ration of his patent. There is 
no power in the Patent Office 
to renew a patent after it has 
once expired. 

The questions which arise on 
each application for an exten- 
sion are : 

1. Is the invention novel ? 

2. Is it useful ? 

3. Is it valuable and important to the public ? 

4. Has the inventor been adequately remunerated for his 
time and expense in originating and perfecting it ? 

5. Has he used due diligence in introducing his invention 
into general use ? 

The first two questions will be determined upon the re- 
sult of an examination in the Patent Office ; as will also the 
third, to some extent. 

To enable the Commissioner to come to a correct conclu- 
sion in regard to the third point of inquiry, the applicant 
should, if possible, procure the testimony of persons disin- 
terested in the invention, which testimony should be taken 
under oath. 

In regard to the fourth and fifth points of inquiry, in ad- 
dition to his own oath showing his receipts and expendi- 
tures on account of the invention, by which its value is to 
be ascertained, the applicant should show, by the testimony 
of witnesses on oath, that he has taken all reasonable mea- 
sures to introduce his invention into general use ; and that, 
without default or neglect on his part, he has failed to ob- 
tain from the use and sale of the invention a reasonable re- 
muneration for the time, ingenuity, and expense bestowed 
on the same, and the introduction thereof into use. 

In case of opposition by any person to the extension of 
a patent, both parties may take testimony, each giving rea- 



FOREIGN PATENTS — ASSIGNMENTS. 29 



sonable notice to the other of the time and place of taking 
said testimony, which shall be taken according to the rules 
prescribed by the Commissioner of Patents in cases of in- 
terference. 

All arguments submitted must be in writing. 

[Note. — Only patents issued prior to March 4, 1861, 
can be extended. 

Many valuable patents are annually expiring which might 
readily be extended, and, if extended, might prove the 
source of wealth to their fortunate possessors. 

All the documents connected with extensions require to 
be carefully drawn up and attended to, as any failure, dis- 
crepancy, or untruth in the proceedings or papers is liable 
to defeat the application. 

In case of the decease of the inventor, his administrator 
may apply for and receive the extension ; but no extension 
can be applied for or granted to an assignee of an inventor. 
Parties desiring extensions will address Munn & Co., 3*7 
Park Row, N. Y.] 

Of Foreign Patents. 

The taking out of a patent in a foreign country does not 
prejudice a patent previously obtained here ; nor does it pre- 
vent obtaining a patent here subsequently. 

When the patent is granted here, after being obtained 
abroad, it will extend only seventeen years from the date 
of the foreign patent. 

Of Assignments and Grants. 

The assignee of any invention may have the patent issue 
to him directly ; but this is held to apply only to assignees 
of entire interests. 

Although when the inventor assigns his entire interest to 
two or more, a patent will issue to them jointly, still, if he 
yet retain a portion in himself, a joint patent will not be is- 
sued to him and them ; the inventor, however, may make 
himself an assignee of a part interest of his invention. 

An inventor can assign his entire right before a patent is 
obtained, so as to enable the assignee to take out a patent 
in his own name ; but the assignment must first be recorded 
and the specification sworn to by the inventor. 



30 FORM FOR ASSIGNMENTS. 

After a patent is obtained, the patentee may grant the 
right to make or use the thing patented in any specified 
portion of the United States. 

Every assignment or grant should be recorded within 
three months from its date ; but if recorded after that time, 
it will protect the assignee or grantee against any one pur- 
chasing after the assignment or grant is placed on record. 

When the patent is to issue in the name of the assignee, 
the entire correspondence should be in his name. 

The receipt of assignments is not generally acknowledged 
by the office. They will be recorded in their turn within a 
few days after their reception, and then transmitted to per- 
sons entitled to them. A five-cent stamp, cancelled, is re- 
quired on every assignment, and on every oath and every 
certificate attached thereto. 

Form of Assignment of the entire Interest in Letters Patent be- 
fore obtaining the same, and to be recorded preparatory 
thereto. 

Whereas I, Jethro Wood, of Scipio, in the county of 
Cayuga, and State of New- York, have invented certain new 
and useful improvements in ploughs, for which I am about 
to make application for letters patent of the United States ; 
and whereas David Peacock, of Burlington, New-Jersey, 
has agreed to purchase from me all the right, title, and in- 
terest which I have, or may have, in and to the said inven- 
tion, in consequence of the grant of letters patent therefor, 
and has paid to me, the said Wood, the sum of five thou- 
sand dollars, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged : 
Now this indenture witnesseth, that, for and in considera- 
tion of the said sum to me paid, I have assigned and trans- 
ferred, and do hereby assign and transfer, to the said David 
Peacock, the full and exclusive right to all the improve- 
ments made by me, as fully set forth and described in the 
specification which I have prepared and executed prepara- 
tory to the obtaining of letters patent therefor. And I do 
hereby authorize and request the Commissioner of Patents 
to issue the said letters patent to the said David Peacock, 
as the assignee of my whole right and title thereto, for the 



PART-INTEREST ASSIGNMENT. 31 

sole use and behoof of the said David Peacock and his legal 
representatives. 

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set ray hand and 
affixed my seal this 16th day of February, 1856. 

jETnRO Wood, [seal.] 
Sealed and delivered in presence of — 
George Clymer, 
David Rittenhouse. 

Form of a Grant of a Partial Bight in a Patent. 

Whereas I, Jethro W r ood, of Scipio, in the county of 
Cayuga, and State of New-York, did obtain letters patent 
of the United States for certain improvements in ploughs, 
which letters patent bear date the 1st day of March, 1855 ; 
and whereas David Peacock, of Burlington, New-Jersey, is 
desirous of acquiring an interest therein : Now this indent- 
ure witnesseth, that for and in consideration of the sum of 
two thousand dollars, to me in hand paid, the receipt of 
which is hereby acknowledged, I have granted, sold, and set 
over, and do hereby grant, sell, and set over, unto the said 
David Peacock, all the right, title, and interest which I have 
in the said invention, as secured to me by said letters pat- 
ent, for, to, and in the several States of New- York, New- 
Jersey, and Pennsylvania, and in no other place or places ; 
the same to be held and enjoyed by the said David Peacock, 
for his own use and behoof, and for the use and behoof of 
his legal representatives, to the full end of the term for 
which said letters patent are granted, (if it is intended to 
grant for any extended term, then add — and for the term 
of any extension thereof,) as fully and entirely as the same 
would have been held and enjoyed by me had this grant 
and sale not been made. 

In testimony whereof, I hereunto set my hand and affix 
my seal this sixteenth day of February, 1856. 

Jethro Wood. [seal.] 

Sealed and delivered in presence of — 
Jacob Perkins, 
Benjamin Franklin. 



3 2 REVENUE-STAMPS — CORRESPONDENCE. 



[Records of the title or ownership in patents are kept at 
Washington. Persons who wish to have searches made 
should address Munn & Co., 37 Park Row. See " Other 
Information," page 7.] 

Stamps. 

Revenue stamps must be attached as follows : 

A stamp of the value of fifty cents is required upon each 
power of attorney authorizing an attorney or agent to 
transact business with this office relative to an application 
for a patent. 

No assignment directing a patent to issue to an assignee 
or assignees will be recognized by the Patent Office unless 
every sheet or piece of paper upon which such an assign- 
ment shall be written shall have affixed thereto a stamp of 
the value of five cents. 

A stamp of the value of five cents is required upon each 
certificate of a magistrate. 

Bules of Correspondence. 

All correspondence must be in the name of the Commis- 
sioner of Patents ; and all letters and other communica- 
tions intended for the office must be addressed to him. If 
addressed to any of the other officers, they will not be no- 
ticed, unless it should be seen that the mistake was owing 
to inadvertence. A separate letter should in every case be 
written in relation to each distinct subject of inquiry or ap- 
plication, the subject of the invention and the date of filing 
being always carefully noted. 

When an agent has filed his power of attorney, duly exe- 
cuted, the correspondence will, in ordinary cases, be held 
with him only. A double correspondence with him and his 
principal, if generally allowed, would largely enhance the 
labor of the office. For the same reason, the assignee of 
the entire interest in an invention is alone entitled to hold 
correspondence with the Office, to the exclusion of the in- 
ventor. If the principal becomes dissatisfied, he must re- 
voke his power of attorney, and notify the Office, which 
will then communicate with him. 



PREPARING PAPERS — GIVING INFORMATION. 33 

Of the Filing and Preservation of Papers. 

All claims and specifications filed in the office (including 
amendments) must be written in a fair, legible hand, with- 
out interlineations or erasures, except such as are clearly 
stated in a marginal or foot-note written on the same sheet 
of paper ; or, failing in which, the office may require them 
to be printed. 

All papers filed in the office will be regarded as perma- 
nent records of the office, and must never, on any account, 
be changed, further than to correct mere clerical mistakes. 

Of giving or withholding Information. 

Aside from the caveats, which are required by law to be 
kept secret, all pending applications are, as far as practica- 
ble, preserved in like secrecy. No information will there- 
fore be given those inquiring whether any particular case is 
before the office, or whether any particular person has ap- 
plied for a patent. 

But if a party whose application has been rejected allows 
the matter to rest for two years without taking any further 
steps therein, he will be regarded as having abandoned his 
application, so far at least that it will no longer be protect- 
ed by any rule of secrecy. The specification, drawings, and 
model will then be subject to inspection in the same manner 
as those of patented or withdrawn applications. 

Information in relation to pending cases is given so far as 
it becomes necessary in conducting the business of the Of- 
fice, but no further. Thus, when an interference is declared 
between two pending applications, each of the contestants 
is entitled to a knowledge of so much of his antagonist's 
case as to enable him to conduct his own understandingly. 

Where the rejection of an application is founded upon 
another case previously rejected, but not withdrawn or 
abandoned, the rejected applicant will be furnished with all 
information in relation to the previously rejected case which 
is necessary for the proper understanding and management 
of his own. 

When an applicant claims a certain device, and the same 
device is found described but not claimed in another pending 
application which was previously filed, information of the 



34 CLAIMS AND SUGGESTIONS. 

filing of such second application is always given to the 
prior applicant, with a suggestion that if he desires to claim 
a patent for that device, he should forthwith modify his 
specification accordingly. 

But where the application, which thus describes a device 
without claiming it, is suosequent in date to that wherein 
such device is claimed, the general rule is, that no notice 
of the claim in the previous application is given to the sub- 
sequent applicant. But where there are any special rea- 
sons to doubt whether the prior applicant is really the in- 
ventor of the device claimed, or where there are any other 
peculiar and sufficient reasons for departing from the rule 
above stated, the Office reserves to itself the right of so 
doing without its being regarded as a departure from the 
established rule. 

The Office cannot respond to inquiries as to the novelty 
of an alleged invention, in advance of an application for a 
patent, nor to inquiries founded upon brief and imperfect 
descriptions propounded with a view of ascertaining whether 
such alleged improvements have been patented, and if so, to 
whom ; nor can it act as an expounder of the patent law. 
nor as counsellor for individuals. 



The reader will bear in mind that the foregoing are 
the official rules for doing business at the Patent Office. 

Inquiries as to the novelty of inventions may be address- 
ed to Munn & Co., 37 Park Row, X. Y. See pages 5 and 6. 



Base all your actions upon a principle of right ; preserve 
your integrity of character, and in doing this never reckon 



on the cost. 



The world estimates men by their success in life, and, by 
general consent, success is evidence of superiority. 



Arsenic volatilizes before it fuses, and antimony melts a 
little below redness. Professor Draper thinks he has shown 
that all substances become red at the same point — 1006 de- 
grees Fahrenheit. 




MODELS TRACING PAPER. 



35 



MODELS. 

It is always better for in- 
ventors to have their models 
constructed under their own 
supervision, even at an in- 
creased cost in money or time. 
During the making of the mod- 
el, the inventor often perceives 
points where important changes 
can be made, or where the in- 
vention may be rendered more 
perfect than was at first con- 
templated. But in some instances, owing to residence in 
distant parts or other causes, it is impossible for the invent- 
or to furnish a model. In such cases, we (Munn & Co.) can 
have proper models built by experienced and trusty makers, 
at moderate charges. 

TRACING PAPER. 

Open a quire of double crown tissue-paper, and brush the 
first sheet with a mixture of mastic varnish and oil of tur- 
pentine, equal parts ; proceed with each sheet similarly, and 
dry them on lines by hanging them up singly. As the pro- 
cess goes on, the under sheets absorb a portion of the var- 
nish, and require less than if single sheets were brushed 
separately. The inventor of this varnish for tracing-paper 
received a medal and premium from the Royal Society. It 
leaves the paper quite light and transparent, it may readily 
be written on, and drawings traced with a pen are perma- 
nently visible. Used by learners to draw out lines. The 
paper is placed on the drawing, which is clearly seen, and 
an outline is made, taking care to hold the tracing-paper 
steady. In this way, elaborate drawings are easily copied. 



Alcohol has more than double the expansive force of 
water of the same temperature. The steam of alcohol at 
174° is equal to that of water at 212°. When proper 
means can be invented for saving the fluid from being lost, 
it is supposed that alcohol can be employed with advantage 
as the moving power for engines. 



36 



VOICE OF THE PEOPLE. 




VOICE OF THE PEOPLE. 

We might fill several volumes with flat- 
tering testimonials from all parts of the 
world, certifying to the great value of The 
Scientific American, but the limits of this 
little book only permit us to make a few 
selections. Read the following : 

Messrs. Editors: Since I had the plea- 
sure of receiving the back numbers of your 
interesting and instructive journal, I have 
shown specimens to several influential man- 
ufacturers and intelligent mechanics in this 
vicinity. One man told me that he had 
twice obtained five dollars for a single re- 
cipe that he copied out of The Scientific 
American, which he has taken regularly for 
several years ; and I presume this is not an isolated case, 
by many hundreds. It is just such journals as yours that 
are annually condensed into encyclopedias, the compilers of 
which roughly scoop off the cream of all the new discover- 
ies in science and art that have been recorded in the col- 
umns of various periodicals during the year ; but the facts 
set forth in such annual works are often so mutilated or dis- 
torted in the condensation, and so meagre in outline, as to 
be practically of no value. Every mechanic and farmer in 
the land should subscribe for The Scientific American, 
not only for his own benefit, but also that of his children ; 
he may have a Franklin or a Fulton, a West or a Watt, in 
that little marble-player whom he pets in his leisure hours ; 
and the natural bias of the child's mind toward mechanical 
or agricultural pursuits requires to be confirmed or further 
developed by intellectual nourishment of such a quality and 
quantity as can be derived only from a journal like your 



Never make money at the expense of your reputation. 
Say but little — think much and do more. 
Avoid borrowing and lending. 



THE CONDENSING ENGINE. 



37 



THE STEAM-ENGINE. 

Every mechanic and inventor should make himself gen- 
erally familiar with the construction and operation of the 
steam-engine. To assist them in gaining this knowledge, 
we subjoin for reference a diagram of the common Con- 
densing Engine, with letters of reference to the names of 
the various parts : 




mmm 



w^^ ww^M 



a, steam cylinder ; 5, piston ; c, upper steam port or pas- 
sage ; d, lower steam port ; e e, parallel motion ; //, beam ; 
g, connecting rod ; h y crank ; i % fly-wheel ; Jc k y eccentric 
and its rod for working the steam-valve ; l y steam-valve and 
casing ; m, throttle-valve ; n, condenser ; o, injection-cock ; 
p, air-pump ; q, hot well ; r, shifting-valve to create vacuum 
in condenser previous to starting the engine ; 5, feed-pump 
to supply boilers ; t, cold-water pump to supply condenser ; 
w, governor. A study of the above diagram and descrip- 
tion, in connection with attentive observation of engines in 
motion, will be of much assistance in acquiring a general 
understanding of the machine. We recommend the follow- 



38 HINTS TO LETTER- WRITEKS. 



ing standard works for careful study by all who desire to 
become thoroughly posted : Bourne's Catechism of the 
Steam-Engine, Main & Brown's Marine Steam-Engine. 

[From The Scientific American.] 

A HINT TO LETTER-WRITING- BORES. 

E consider, as a general thing, that our 
correspondents are a fair and high-minded 
set of men, such as we are most happy to 
accommodate by answering, so far as it is 
in our power, all their inquiries ; but there 
are a few of whom we can very justly com- 
plain. They put to us all sorts of ques- 
S ^SBllih ^ ons ' *° answer "which might require a 
HI '^SttBr'l na ^"^ a y °f our valuable time; and if we 
W \ x ^yffiX snub them off with a short answer, they are 
^V^mBf''' I ^ e ^y t0 re P^J b ac k m complaining terms. 
iLJB] It cannot be reasonably expected of us, 

. ^T^gla^gsg?-, Uj^ we gijgjj g p en( J our t[ me J n guc J ] tQ 

us — profitless letter-writing. We mean to be accommo- 
dating, but cannot consent to waste all our time in getting 
information for correspondents who seem not to know how 
to appreciate either our forbearance or the value of our 
time. As an example of what we mean, we have a case 
before us. A correspondent wants us to hunt through our 
files for a notice of some book which appeared in The 
Scientific American some years ago, and to help him to 
find the book. He also wants us to find for him an English 
book which we do not believe can be had in this market. 
Another correspondent wants us to send to England without 
delay to get something which would require time and money 
to procure for him, but in regard to which he don't even 
inclose a three-cent stamp to pre-pay our letter. Another 
incloses three cents, and wants a calculation made which 
would cost us two hours' hard study. It is well enough for 
such correspondents to know that our time is worth to us 
more than a cent and a half per hour. Treat us fairly, and 
you will have no cause of complaint 



VOICE OF THE PEESS. 39 




VOICE OF THE PEESS. 

In examining the pages of 
our journal, we find them 
so covered with brilliant 
gems of commendation 
that it is difficult to select 
one which is more spark 
ling than another. We 
therefore take the follow- 
ing at random : 

" The distinction achiev- 
ed by the world-renowned 
firm of Munn & Co., as Solicitors of Patents, is alike deserved 
and commanding — deserved, because they have spared no 
effort nor expense since they entered upon their responsible 
vocation — commanding, because it is a distinction supported 
and upheld by all the scientific appliances within the reach 
of modern enterprise, and carries along with it a prestige 
which we in vain look for in the history of any similar firm. 
To the scores of inventors who are to be met with in this 
State — and especially to those among them whose diffidence 
may have hitherto restrained them from giving their dis- 
coveries to the world — we would say, by all means consult 
the firm of Messrs. Munn & Co., 37 Park Row, New- York, 
confident, as we feel, that by so doing (should your inven- 
tions possess merit) you will not only put yourself in the 
way of securing a patent for the same, but at the same time 
reap the satisfaction of knowing that you have committed 
your claims to hands emphatically qualified successfully to 
carry them out. "We have deemed it a duty, in this mode, 
to ' say our say' in regard to an Agency which, while, we 
trust, it has been able to make its highly important busi- 
ness pay, has, at the same time, nobly upheld the true prin- 
ciples of scientific investigation, scorning to make the latter 
in the least degree subservient to merely pecuniary consid- 
erations." — Rahivay (N. J.) Times and Register. 



A cubic foot of air weighs 523 grains — a little more than 
an ounce. A cubic foot of water weighs 1000 ounces. 



40 



IMPORTANCE OF FOREIGN PATENTS. 




FOEEIGN PATENTS. 

American Inventors 
should bear in mind that, as 
a general rule, any invention 
which is valuable to the pat- 
entee in this country, is worth 
equally as much in England 
and some other foreign coun- 
tries. Four patents — Amer- 
ican, English, French, and 
Belgian — will secure an in- 
ventor exclusive monopoly 
to his discovery among one 
hundred millions of the most 
intelligent people in the 
world. The facilities of busi- 
ness and steam communication are such, that patents can 
be obtained abroad by our citizens almost as easily as at 
home. 

Models are not required in any European country, but 
the utmost care and experience is necessary in the prepara- 
tion of the specifications and drawings. A variety of small 
tax duties and other fees must be paid ; many official for- 
malities are also to be observed in obtaining foreign patents. 
It is therefore important that the applicant should place his 
business in the hands of established and reliable agents. 

For the past twenty years, the majority of all patents 
taken out by Americans in foreign countries have been ob- 
tained through Munn & Co.'s Scientific American Patent 
Agency, and nearly all of this foreign patent business is 
still done by us. Our experience and success in this branch 
is very great. 

The following summary will give a general idea of the 
expenses and duration of European Patents : 

Great Britain. — Patents are granted for fourteen years 
to any person who is the inventor or the first importer. If 
a patent has been previously obtained in any other country, 
the British patent expires with it. The British patent ex- 
tends over Great Britain and Ireland, but does not include 



COSTS OF FOPwEIGN PATENTS. 41 



the Colonies. Separate patents are issued by the Colonies. 
The cost of a British patent is generally about $350, of 
which $100, for Provisional Protection, are payable at the 
time of making application, and the remainder in four 
months. Three years from the date of the patent a further 
sum of £50 must be paid, and a final sum of £100 at the 
end of seven years. 

British Patents for designs, having reference to articles 
of utility, intended to protect the shape or configuration of 
the article, are granted for three years ; expense, $100. 

France. — Term of the patent, fifteen year3. Annual fees. 
$20. Total expenses of obtaining, about §150. 

Belgium. — Term of the patent, twenty years. Small an- 
nual fees. Expense of obtaining, about $150. 

EXPENSE OF FOREIGN PATENTS INCLUSIVE OF ALL FEES. 



Austria $250 

Australia, 250 

BaTaria, 150 

Belsium, 150 

Cuba, 250 

Duteh West-Indies, 250 

France 150 

Great Britain 3.50 

Holland, 150 

India, 400 



Italy $200 

Kingdom Two Sicilies, ... 200 

Netherlands, 150 

Poland, 150 

Portugal, 150 

Prussia, 200 

Russia, 500 

Saxony, 100 

Spain, 400 

Sweden, 300 



Parties intending to secure patents abroad will please ad- 
dress Munn & Co., 37 Park Row, Xew-York, and obtain 
their pamphlet (free) relating exclusively to Foreign Pat- 
ents. 

Caution. — Pay no attention to the solicitation of foreign 
agents of unknown responsibility, who send circulars to 
parties whose names they copy from the patent lists of The 
Scientific American. 



CleaPv, dry, cold air contains more oxygen, is more brac- 
ing to the human system, and is heavier than moist air. 
People are accustomed to say that the air on damp days 
feels heavy ; -but the truth is, the air is lighter, and there- 
fore the blood is less oxydized, and the feelings conse- 
quently depressed. 



42 



HOW TO SELL PATENTS. 




HOW TO SELL PATENTS. 

In the prefatory portion of this lit- 
tle work, we have presented hints 
upon the general success of invent- 
ors, and the great value of even the 
simplest inventions. But it must not 
be supposed, because a patent is 
granted, that the world will run after 
an unknown man to buy from him an 
unknown patent. In order to sell a 
patent, judicious effort is required on 
the part of the inventor or his agent. 
Indeed, his final success will depend, 
to a considerable extent, upon his 
business tact and energy. He should 
make himself thoroughly conversant 
with the merits of his invention, and 
should prepare specimens or model machines thereof, made 
in the most perfect manner, so as readily to exhibit the op- 
erations of the improvement to others. 

After obtaining a patent, the first grand requisite in ef- 
fecting its sale is to make the merits and importance of the 
improvement publicly known. This may be done in various 
ways : by advertisements in newspapers, by cards, circulars, 
pamphlets, etc., by local and travelling agents. Some per- 
sons appoint agents in each town or county, giving them a 
liberal portion of the net proceeds for the sale of rights, or 
a handsome per cent upon the receipts for machines sold. 
In estimating the value of patent rights for different States, 
counties, etc., one very common method is to fix the price 
with reference to the amount of population. 

One of the most comprehensive and powerful methods 
of bringing the merits of an invention before the public, is 
to have it noticed and engraved in The Scientific Ameri- 
can. This paper, published weekly, has a large circulation. 
It is seen by probably not less than one or two hundred 
thousand readers, who comprise all of the most intelligent 
persons of scientific and mechanical acquirements in the 
country. The fact of publication in The Scientific Amer- 



HOW TO SELL PATENTS. 43 



ican is a passport to their attention and favor. It is upon 
the judgment and advice of scientific and mechanical per- 
sons that the purchasers of patent rights and new inven- 
tions are apt to rely. " Yes, that is a good invention. It 
has been well illustrated in The Scientific American, and 
I fully understand its construction. I advise you to pur- 
chase the right." We suppose that more patents are sold 
upon such advice than by all other agencies and means put 
together. 

To assist the sale, it is always advisable to have the pat- 
ent taken out through the Scientific American Agency. 
The study necessary to the preparation of the specification 
and drawings familiarizes our minds with the merits of the 
invention, and as all worthy inventions patented by us are 
noticed in The Scientific American, we are enabled to 
speak of them with some degree of authority. 

We keep artists constantly employed in preparing en- 
gravings for The Scientific American. All our engravings 
are original. We never print old cuts. Parties who desire 
to have engravings inserted in The Scientific American 
will please address Munn & Co., 37 Park Row, New- York. 
After publication, the engravings will be returned to the 
owner, who can then use them for other papers, circulars, 
etc. 



AGENTS TO SELL. 

We are often asked to give the names of parties who 
make it a business to sell patents. We are rarely enabled 
to do so. Such concerns are generally quite fugitive in 
their character. An office is opened, signs displayed, a few 
customers engaged, and then suddenly the shop is closed. 
The truth is, that the profit upon the sales of a single good 
patent is equivalent to a fortune, and the business it fur- 
nishes is enough to fully engage the attention of many per- 
sons. Our advice to patentees is : Take hold of the busi- 
ness of selling yourselves. If you want assistance, search 
for agents among your friends, and interest them specially 
in your invention. 



44 INCOME FROM PATENTS. 



EOYALTY. 

One very profitable source of income from patents is roy- 
alty. This, in effect, involves a sort of contract between a 
patentee and a manufacturer, by which the latter, in consid- 
eration of license to make the thing, agrees to pay to the 
patentee a specified sum upon each article when sold. The 
patentee of the chimney-spring, now so commonly used to 
fasten chimneys upon lamps, was accustomed to grant li- 
censes to manufacturers on receiving a royalty of a few 
cents per dozen. His income was at one time reported to 
be fifty thousand dollars a year from this source. Howe, 
the inventor of the sewing-machine, is said to receive a 
royalty of from five to ten dollars on each machine, and his 
annual income has been estimated at five hundred thousand 
dollars. We might give many examples of success. The 
license and royalty plan is oftentimes the most profitable 
method of employing patents. 



A Circle is the most capacious 
of all plain figures, or contains the 
greatest area within the same out- 
line or perimeter. 

To find the circumference of a 
circle, multiply the diameter by 
3.1416, and the product will be the 
circumference. 

To find the diameter of a circle, 
divide the circumference by 3.1416, 
and the quotient will be the diam- 
eter. 

Any circle whose diameter is double that of another, con- 
tains four times the area of the other. 




Some employers think themselves entitled to the owner- 
ship of all inventions made by their workmen. But this is 
not so. Employers have no claim to the inventions of their 
workmen unless it can be shown that the latter was special- 
ly employed to bring out such inventions. 



VALUE OF PATENTS. 45 




[From The Scientific American.] 
PATENTS ON SMALL THINGS. 

An English firm has lately pat- 
ented a peculiar shape for candle- 
ends. By making them conical, or 
tapering, they will fit any candle- 
stick without being papered or tin- 
kered up in other ways. Now, a 
very small royalty on each pound 
of candles will give a large annual 
revenue to the inventors, and the 
pecuniary value of their idea is 
seen at once. Similar instances 
might be given from cases at home, 
where inventors have originated 
some simple article in daily use and secured it, they have 
received large rewards. " Despise not the day of small 
things," says the proverb, and we may say, in addition, de- 
ride no idea as useless that tends to advance the arts and 
sciences, merely because it seems simple. 

A very great misconception prevails in the minds of 
many persons in respect to patents. They are regarded 
chiefly as stepping-stones to fame or passports to future no- 
toriety. This is a huge delusion. An invention is first 
and principally an investment, just as an artist's picture, al- 
though an inspiration, is a commercial venture. The glory 
and renown attaching to either picture or invention is the 
afterpart, the dessert to the solid feast on dollars and cents. 
The natural result of the mistake alluded to is to lead per- 
sons to underrate the value of their ideas. It is not at all 
uncommon to hear individuals exclaim, " What ! get a pat- 
ent on that thing I" in alluding to some little affair that can 
be carried in the pocket. That very despised " thing" will 
doubtless be the foundation of a good fortune, as many a 
similar article has been before it. 

The improvement in some art or manufacture suggests 
itself to an individual, and he straightway applies it to his 
own use with very great advantage. Now, what shall he 
do ? Patent it and secure the fruit of his genius to him- 



46 



CONDUCTING POWER OF METALS. 



self, or give it to the world without price ? The business 
man would say the former ; because if notoriety be the ob- 
ject, great patents confer not only means, but distinction, 
and where the first is attained, the second follows. 



[From The Scientific American.] 
A SPARKLING VANE. 




A very curious and elegant vane for buildings may be 
made by placing in the centre a spiral or twisted spindle, as 
shown in the above cut. This spindle should be hung on 
delicate pivots, and the spaces between the spiral flanches 
nearly covered with small pieces of looking-glass or thin 
pieces of mica. The least breeze will put it in motion, and 
as the reflectors will assume every possible position, several 
of them will be sure to present the reflection of the sun at 
every revolution, from whatever point it may be viewed, 
thus producing a constant and very brilliant sparkling. 



ELECTRICAL. CONDUCTING POWER OP 
METALS. 

The effect of the electrical discharge on metallic bodies 
is to raise their temperature to a less or greater degree, ac- 
cording to their conducting power. The best conductors 
are silver and copper ; the poorest, lead ; as will be seen 
from the subjoined table : 

Heat evolved. Conducting Power. 

Silver, 6 120 

Copper, 6 120 

Gold, 9 80 

Zinc 18 40 

Platinum, 30 24 

Iron, 30 24 

Tin, 36 20 

Lead, 72 12 



THE PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION. 47 



[From The Scientific American.] 
IMPORTANT TO INVENTORS. 

The United States Patent Office at "Washington contains 
nearly 50,000 models pertaining to patented inventions, all 
of which are open to public inspection and examination, 
together with the drawings and specifications relating there- 
to. But the distance of the Capital and the time and ex- 
pense involved in a journey thither deter, in fact, the 
majority of inventors from reaping the advantages which a 
personal examination of previously patented inventions 
might oftentimes give them. To obviate this difficulty we 
(Munn & Co.) are in the habit of making these examinations 
at the Patent Office for inventors. When it is desired to 
ascertain definitely whether an invention, believed to be 
new, has been previously made, or to what extent, if any, 
it has been anticipated, the applicant sends to us a rough 
sketch and description of the device. We then make a 
thorough examination in the Patent Office at Washington, 
and report the result to the applicant. The charge for this 
service is only $5, and it is frequently the means of saving 
the applicant the entire expense of preparing a model, pay- 
ing Government fees, etc., by revealing the fact that the 
whole or material portion of his improvement was previous- 
ly known. This preliminary examination is sometimes also 
of importance in assisting to properly prepare the papers, 
so as to avoid conflicting wiih other inventions in the same 
class. The reader should carefully note the distinction 
made between this preliminary examination at the Patent 
Office and the examination and opinion given at our office, 
either orally or by letter, for which no fee is expected. It 
is only when a special search is made at the Patent Office 
that the fee of $5 is required. We are able, in a vast num- 
ber of cases submitted to us, to decide the question of pa- 
tentability without this special search. See page 6 of this 
little work. 



When the air is exhausted from a pump-tube, (usually 
done by means of a piston,) the pressure of the atmosphere 
will cause the water to rise in the tube to a height of thirty 
feet. 



48 VALUE OF THE SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN. 




" The Scientific American. — We are sure 
that if a few words of seasonable commend- 
ation should induce any of that large class 
of intelligent readers who can appreciate true 
merit, to subscribe for this excellent publi- 
cation, we shall be abundantly rewarded in 
the conviction of having earned their grati- 
tude. It is only recently that we have looked 
into its columns with any degree of regular- 
ity, and we take an early opportunity to ex- 
press the extreme satisfaction and interest 
which we have experienced in doing so. To condense our 
idea of its most valuable characteristic into one sentence, we 
consider The Scientific American as embodying the high- 
est function of all science, namely, its application to the 
practical, every-day concerns of life, in clear, pure, agree- 
able language. It will prove a pleasant guest and a use- 
ful companion at any fireside it may enter." — Watchman, 
Greenport, L. I. . 

The Scientific American ought to be taken, read, and 
studied by every intelligent man, young or old, worker or 
idler, rich or poor, in the country. It commends itself to 
every one, and is useful and interesting to all. The most 
scientific may learn from it, and the unscientific understand 
it. It has a peculiar charm about it that interests and af- 
fects every person with a grain of sense in his head. We 
are in the habit of sending our copy, after a thorough pe- 
rusal, to the. army, and the friend who receives it writes us, 
that he likes it better than any other paper; that it is long- 
ingly waited for, and eagerly read by his comrades, and 
never ceases its circulation until so bethumbed that its col- 
umns are no longer readable. — Westchester County Journal. 



Remember that, by subscribing to The Scientific Ameri- 
can, you receive, in the course of the year, an amount of 
reading matter nearly equal to four thousand ordinary book 
pages. 

The light of lightning and its reflections, will penetrate 
from 150 to 200 miles. 



HOW TO COMPUTE HORSE-POWER. 49 



HORSE-POWER. 

When Watt began to introduce his steam-engines he 
wished to be able to state their power as compared with 
that of horses, which were then generally employed for 
driving mills. He accordingly made a series of experiments, 
which led him to the conclusion that the average power of 
a horse was sufficient to raise about 33,000 lbs. one foot in 
vertical height per minute, and this has been adopted in 
England and this country as the general measure of power. 

A waterfall has one horse-power for every 33,000 lbs. of 
water flowing in the stream per minute, for each foot of 
fall. To compute the power of a stream, therefore, multi- 
ply the area of its cross section in feet by the velocity in 
feet per minute, and we have the number of cubic feet flow- 
ing along the stream per minute. Multiply this by 624-, 
the number of pounds in a cubic foot of water, and this by 
the vertical fall in feet, and we have the foot-pounds per 
minute of the fall ; dividing by 33,000 gives us the horse- 
power. 

For example : A stream flows through a flume 10 feet 
wide, and the depth of the water is 4 feet ; the area of the 
cross section will be 40 feet. The velocity is 150 feet per 
minute — <10Xl50=r6000=the cubic feet of water flowing 
per minute. 6000X62£r=3*75,000=:the pounds of water 
flowing per minute. The fall is 10 feet; 10X375,000= 
3,750,000=the foot-pounds of the water-fall. Divide 3,f 50,- 
000 by 33,000, and we have 113f-£- as the horse-power of 
the fall. 

The power of a steam-engine is calculated by multiplying 
together the area of the piston in inches, the mean pressure 
in pounds per square inch, the length of the stroke in feet, 
and the number of strokes per minute; and dividing by 
33,000. 

Water-wheels yield from 50 to 91 per cent of the water. 
The actual power of a steam-engine is less than the indicat- 
ed power, owing to a loss from friction ; the amount of this 
loss varies with the arrangement of the engine and the per- 
fection of the workmanship. 



50 



HEAT-CONDUCTING POWER OF BODIES. 



ZUR BEACHTUNG FUR DEUTSCHE ER- 
FINDER. 




2)ie llnterjetdmeten BaBen eine 
Hnleitung t;erau«gege£en, tr»eld 
angiebt rca8 gu befolgen ift urn ei. 
patent ^u ftdjerrt, unb felbige roh 
auf ^ortofreie 2lrtfrage gratis abg> 
gebeti. 

9^ad) bem neueit $ateiit*©cfet 
fcnnen 23iirger alter Sanber, tn 
einer einjigen StnSnabme, <Paterr 
in ben 3?ereinigten @taaten 311 bei 
felben SBebingungert erlartgen, re 
tie burger ber 23eretrtigten <Staate 
felbfr. 

3Rntra & &o., 

Ho. 37 park Horo, ttero-ljort 
Scientific American Office. 



SOMETHING TO BE REMEMBERED. 

American Patents, granted to foreigners, become invalii 
if the patent is not put and continued on sale, on reasonabl ' 
terms, within eighteen months from the date of the paten- 1 
Law of 1836, section 15, page 61. 



HEAT-CONDUCTING POWER 
ENT BODIES. 



OF DIFFER. 



Gold, 1000 

Platinum, 9S1 

Silver, 973 

Copper, 898 

Iron, 374 

Zinc, 363 



Tin, 3 r 

Lead, IS 

Marble, i 

Porcelain, I 

Eire Clay, 1 

Fire Brick, 11 



RELATIVE CONDUCTING POWER OF 
FLUIDS. 

Mercury, 1000 I Proof Spirit, 812 

Water, 357 | Alcohol, (pure,) . 832 



IMPORTANCE OP CHEMICAL INVENTIONS. 51 



[From the Scientific American.] 

FIELD FOR CHEMICAL INVENTION". 

m 

. Less than five per cent of all the patents issued are for 
hemical inventions. The first impression which this fact 
3aves is that the chemists are not so wide awake as the 
lechanics. And it seems, too, as if the chemists have the 
est chance, for they have the range of all the combina- 
ions, almost infinite in number, of all the sixty or more 
;imple substances or elements, while the mechanic is limited 
i all his inventions to the use of only five mechanical ele- 
aents. But this course of reasoning is a little unfair for 
he chemist, if we wish to determine his real merit as a 
•enefactor of mankind. Thus far the introduction of new 
ubstances has been too slow and too much the result of 
hance. Illuminating gas was known as a chemical product 
or centuries before any use of it was made ; iodine, chromine, 
hloroform, aniline, and a hundred other things, now com- 
aon, were for a very long time only rare specimens on the 
helves of the chemist's curiosity-shop, before they were 
bund to be of the greatest value to men, and we cannot 
iave a doubt that much more of the same kind of wealth is 
oon to be developed. May we not reasonably expect that 
irtues may be discovered in things now neglected, which 
vill directly lead to the invention of arts more wonderful 
.nd more useful than photography or electro-telegraphing ? 



A correspondent, writing from Buffalo, says, in speaking 
)f the value of The Scientific American to its host of read- 
ers : " I would as soon think of going without supper on 
Thursday night as to neglect to call at the book-store for 
,he Paper of papers ; and I am proud to say that I have 
nfluenced many others to ' go and do likewise.' I have my 
volumes complete and nicely bound from volume five ; and 
should poverty ever compel me to sell my library, my Bible 
and my Scientific American should remain to grace the 
otherwise empty shelves." 



52 



USEFUL HINTS TO INQUIRERS. 




A WORD TO INQUIRERS. 

We frequently receive letters containing 
long strings of trifling questions, relative to 
all sorts of things, without any fee to pay 
us for our time in obtaining the information, 
nor even stamps for postage or stationery. 
Many of these correspondents close their 
letters with the comforting assurance that 
" I would remit for your trouble, but do 
not know how much to send." To relieve 
the consciences of all such doubters, we 
would recommend them to send a dollar or more, according 
to the value to them of the desired information. If the 
latter is of no value, they ought not to trouble us with their 
fly-tracks. 

To certain other classes of inquirers the following hints 
may be useful : The best washing-machines, the best straw- 
cutters, the best churns, the best brick-machines, the best 
engines, the best sewing-machines, the best of every thing 
in the mechanical line, is advertised and illustrated in The 
Scientific American, and the address of the parties having 
such things on sale is there given. Write directly to them 
for the information you want, and spare us. If you cannot 
at first find what you desire, read the back numbers of 
The Scientific American. Do not expect us to do the 
work for you unless you send a small remittance. 



To find the area of an ellipsis, multiply the long diam- 
eter by the short diameter and by .7854 ; the product will 
be the area. 

Never relate your misfortunes, and never grieve over what 
you cannot prevent. 

To find the area of a circle, multiply the square of the 
diameter by the decimal .7854. Or multiply the circum- 
ference by "the radius, and divide the product by 2. 



PATENT LAW OF 1836. 53 

THE 

PATENT LAWS 

OP THE 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



The following are the existing Laws under which 
American Patents are granted and supported by the courts. 
To save space we omit such portions as have been repeal- 
ed, or that relate to salaries of officials, and other unimport- 
ant details not pertaining to patents. 



PATENT LAW OF 1836. 

AN ACT to promote the progress of Useful Arts, and to re- 
peal all acts and parts of acts heretofore made for that 
purpose. 

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PATENT OFFICE. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the United States of America in Congress assembled : That 
there shall be established and attached to the Department 
of State,* an office, to be denominated the Patent Office, the 
chief officer of which shall be called the Commissioner of 
Patents, to be appointed by the President, by and with the 
advice and consent of the Senate, whose duty it shall be, 
under the direction of the Secretary of State, to superin- 
tend, execute, and perform all such acts and things touch- 
ing and respecting the granting and issuing of patents for 
new and useful discoveries, inventions, and improvements, 

* Now attached to Department of Interior. 



54 PATENT LAW OF 1836. 



as are herein provided for, or shall hereafter be, by law, di- 
rected to be done and performed, and shall have charge 
and custody of all the books, records, papers, models, and 
machines, and all other things belonging to said office, * * * 
and shall be entitled to send and receive letters and pack- 
ages by mail, relating to the business of the office, free of 
postage. 

Sec. 2. [Relates to the appointment of clerks and other 
officials.] 

PATENT OFFICE EMPLOYEES MUST NOT BE INTERESTED IN 
PATENTS. 

* * # And said Commissioner, clerks, and every other 
person appointed and employed in said office, shall be dis- 
qualified and interdicted from acquiring or taking, except 
by inheritance, during the period for which they shall hold 
their appointments respectively, any right or interest, direct- 
ly or indirectly, in any patent for an invention or discovery 
which has been, or may hereafter be, granted. 

Sec 3. [Relates to oaths and sureties of clerks.] 

SEAL OF OFFICE, COPYING, ETC. 

Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the said Com- 
missioner shall cause a seal to be made and provided for 
the said office, with such devices as the President of the 
United States shall approve ; and copies of any records, 
books, papers, or drawings, belonging to the said office, 
under the signature of the said Commissioner, or, when 
the office shall be vacant, under the signature of the chief 
clerk, with the said seal affixed, shall be competent evi- 
dence in all cases in which the original records, books, pa- 
pers, or drawings could be evidence. And any person 
making application therefor may have certified copies of 
the records, drawings, and other papers deposited in said 
office, on paying for the written copies the sum of ten 
cents for every page of one hundred words ; and for copies 
of drawings, the reasonable expenses of making the same. 

record of patents, etc. 
Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That all patents is- 
suing from said office shall be issued in the name of the 



PATENT LAW OF 1836. 55 

United States, and under the seal of said office, and be signed 
by the Secretary of State,* and countersigned by the Com- 
missioner of said office, and shall be recorded, together 
with the descriptions, specifications, and drawings, in the 
said office, in books to be kept for that purpose. Every 
such patent shall contain a short description or title of the 
invention or discovery, correctly indicating its nature and 
design, and in its terms grant to the applicant or applicants, 
his or their heirs, administrators, executors, or assigns, for 
a term not exceeding fourteen years, [changed to seventeen 
years,] the full and exclusive right and liberty of making, 
using, and vending to others to be used, the said invention or 
discovery, referring to the specifications for the particulars 
thereof, a copy of which shall be annexed to the patent, 
specifying what the patentee claims as his invention or dis- 
covery. 

WHO MAY OBTAIN PATENTS, AND HOW. 

Sec. 6. And be it farther enacted, That any person or 
persons having discovered or invented any new and useful 
art, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or 
any new and useful improvement on any art, machine, man- 
ufacture, or composition of matter, not known or used by 
others before his or their discovery or invention thereof, and 
not at the time of his application for a patent in public use 
or on sale, with his consent or allowance, as the inventor 
or discoverer, and shall desire to obtain an exclusive pro- 
perty therein, may make application, in writing, to the 
Commissioner of Patents, expressing such desire ; and the 
Commissioner, on due proceedings had, may grant a pa- 
tent therefor. But before any inventor shall receive a pa- 
tent for any such new invention or discovery, he shall de- 
liver a written description of his invention or discovery, 
and of the manner and process of making, constructing, 
using, and compounding the same, in such full clear, and 
exact terms, avoiding unnecessary prolixity, as to enable 
any person skilled in the art or science to which it apper- 
tains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make, 
construct, compound, and use the same ; and in case of 

* Secretary of the Interior. See Section Law of 1S49, page 72. 



56 PATENT LAW OF 1836. 



any machine, he shall fully explain the principle, and the 
several modes in which he has contemplated the application 
of that principle or character by which it may be distin- 
guished from other inventions ; and shall particularly spe- 
cify and point out the part, improvement, or combination 
which he claims as his own invention or discovery. He 
shall, furthermore, accompany the whole with a drawing 
or drawings, and written references, where the nature of 
the case admits of drawings ; or with specimens of ingre- 
dients, and of the composition of matter, sufficient in quan- 
tity for the purpose of experiment, where the invention or 
discovery is of a composition of matter ; which descrip- 
tions and drawings, signed by the inventor, and attested by 
two witnesses, shall be filed in the Patent Office ; and he 
shall, moreover, furnish a model of his invention, in all 
cases which admit of a representation by model, of a con- 
venient size to exhibit advantageously its several parts. 
The applicant shall make oath or affirmation that he does 
verily believe that he is the original and first inventor or 
discoverer of the art, machine, composition, or improve- 
ment for which he solicits a patent ; and that he does not 
know or believe that the same was ever before known or 
used ; and also of what country he is a citizen ; which 
oath or affirmation may be made before any person author- 
ized by law to administer oaths. 

OFFICIAL EXAMINATIONS. 

Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That on the filing of 
any such application, description, and specification, and the 
payment of the duty hereinafter provided,* the Commis- 
sioner shall make, or cause to be made, an examination of 
the alleged new invention or discovery ; and if, on any such 
examination, it shall not appear to the Commissioner that the 
same had been invented or discovered by any other person 
in this country, prior to the alleged invention or discovery 
thereof by the applicant, or that it had been patented or 
described in any printed publication in this or any foreign 
country, or had been in public use or on sale, with the ap- 

* See Section 10, page 76. 



PATENT LAW OF 1836. 57 



plicant's consent or allowance, prior to the application, if 
the Commissioner shall deem it to be sufficiently useful and 
important, it shall be his duty to issue a patent therefor. 
But whenever, on such examination, it shall appear to the 
Commissioner that the applicant was not the original and 
first inventor or discoverer thereof, or that any part of 
that which is claimed as new had before been invented or 
discovered, or patented or described in any printed publica- 
tion in this or any foreign country as aforesaid, or that the 
description is defective and insufficient, he shall notify the 
applicant thereof, giving him briefly such information and 
references as may be useful in judging of the propriety of 
renewing his application, or of altering his specification to 
embrace only that part of the invention or discovery which 
is new. * * * 

INTERFERENCES. 

Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That whenever an ap- 
plication shall be made for a patent, which, in the opinion 
of the Commissioner, would interfere with any other patent 
for which an application may <oe pending, or with any un- 
expired patent which shall have been granted, it shall be 
the duty of the Commissioner to give notice thereof to 
such applicants or patentees, as the case may be ; and if 
either shall be dissatisfied with the decision of the Com- 
missioner on the question of priority of right or invention, 
on a hearing thereof, he may appeal from such decision, on 
the like terms and conditions as are provided in the pre- 
ceding section of this act, and the like proceedings shall be 
had, to determine which, or whether either, of the appli- 
cants is entitled to receive a patent as prayed for. But 
nothing in this act contained shall be construed to deprive 
an original and true inventor of the right to a patent for 
his invention by reason of his having previously taken out 
letters patent therefor in a foreign country, and the same 
having been published at any time within six months next 
preceding the filing of his specification and drawings. * * * 

Sec. 9. [Relates to patent fees. This section fixed the fee 
for American citizens at thirty dollars ; subjects of Great 
Britain five hundred dollars, and all other persons three 



58 PATENT LAW OF IS 30. 



hundred dollars. This was changed by the law of 1S61, 
(see Section 10, page 7 6.) All persons, without distinction 
as to nationality, now pay thirty -five dollars, except the in- 
habitants of those countries that discriminate against Amer- 
ican citizens. In Canada, an American cannot obtain pa- 
tents. Hence Canadians are charged five hundred dollars 
for an American patent. It is expected that the Canadian 
law will be changed so as to remove this discrimination.] 

THE HEIRS 0? AN INVENTOR MAY OBTAIN A PATENT. 

Sec. 10. And be it further enacted, That where any per- 
son hath made, or shall have made, any new invention, dis- 
covery, or improvement, on account of which a patent 
might by virtue of this act be granted, and such person 
shall die before any patent shall be granted therefor, the 
right of applying for and obtaining such patent shall de- 
volve on the executor or administrator of such person, in 
trust for the heirs-at-law of the deceased, in case he shall 
have died intestate ; but if otherwise, then in trust for his 
devisees, in as full and ample manner, and under the same 
conditions, limitations, and restrictions as the same was 
held, or might have been claimed or enjoyed, by such per- 
son in his or her lifetime; and when application for a pa- 
tent shall be made by such legal representatives, the oath 
or affirmation provided in the 6th section of this act shall 
be so varied as to be applicable to them. 

PATENTS MAY BE ASSIGNED. 

Sec. 11. And be it further enacted, That every patent 
shall be assigned in law, either as to the whole interest or 
anv undivided part thereof, by any instrument in writing ; 
which assignment, and also every grant and conveyance of 
the exclusive right, under any patent, to make and use, and 
to grant to others to make and use, the thing patented with- 
in and throughout any specified part or portion of the 
United States, shall be recorded in the Patent Office within 
three months from the execution thereof. * *■ » 



PATENT LAW OF 1836. 59 

CAVEATS. 

Sec. 12. And be it further* enacted, That any citizen of 
the United States, or alien who shall have been a resident 
of the United States one year next preceding, and shall 
have made oath of his intention to become a citizen thereof, 
who shall have invented any new art, machine, or improve- 
ment thereof, and shall desire further time to mature the 
same, may * * * file in the Patent Office a caveat setting 
forth the design and purpose thereof, and its principal and 
distinguishing characteristics, and praying protection of his 
right till he shall have matured his invention. * * * And 
such caveat shall be filed in the confidential archives of the 
office, and preserved in secrecy. And if application shall 
be made by any other person, within one year from the 
time of filing such caveat, for a patent of any invention 
with which it may in any respect interfere, it shall be the 
duty of the Commissioner to deposit the description, spe- 
cifications, drawings, and model, in the confidential ar- 
chives of the office, and to give notice (by mail) to the per- 
son filing the caveat of such application, ivho shall within 
three months after receiving the notice, if he wOuld avail 
himself of the benefit of his caveat, file his description, 
specifications, drawings, and model ; and if, in the opinion 
of the Commissioner, the specifications of claim interfere 
with each other, like proceedings may be had in all re- 
spects as are in this act provided in the case of interfering 
applications ; Provided, however, That no opinion or de- 
cision * * * under the provisions of this act, shall pre- 
clude any person interested in favor of or against the va- 
lidity of any patent which has been or may hereafter be 
granted, from the right to contest the same in any judicial 
court, in any action in which its validity may come in ques- 
tion. 

RE-ISSUES. 

Sec. 13. And be it further enacted, That whenever any 
patent which has heretofore been granted, or which shall 
hereafter be granted, shall be inoperative or invalid, by 
reason of a defective or insufficient description or specifica- 
tion, or by reason of the patentee claiming in his specifica- 
tion, as his own invention, more than he had or shall have a 



CO PATENT LAW OF 1830. 



right to claim as new, if the error has or shall have arisen 
by inadvertency, accident, or mistake, and without any 
fraudulent or deceptive intention, it shall be lawful for the 
Commissioner, upon the surrender to him of such patent, 
* * * to cause a new patent to be issued to the said in- 
ventor for the same invention, for the residue of the period 
then unexpired for which the original patent was granted, 
in accordance with the patentee's corrected description and 
specification.* And in case of his death or any assignment 
by him made of the original patent, a similar right shall 
vest, in his executors, administrators, or assignees. And the 
patent so reissued, together with the corrected description 
and specifications, shall have the same effect and operation 
in law, on the trial of all actions hereafter commenced for 
causes subsequently accruing, as though the same had been 
originally filed in such corrected form, before the issuing of 
the original patent.* * * * 

SUITS AT LAW. 

Sec. 14. And be it further enacted, That whenever, in 
any action for damages [for] making, using, or selling the 
thing whereof the exclusive right is secured by any patent 
heretofore granted, or by any patent which may hereafter 
be granted, a verdict shall be rendered for the plaintiff in 
such action, it shall be in the power of the court to render 
judgment of any sum above the amount found by such ver- 
dict as the actual damages sustained by the plaintiff, not 
exceeding three times the amount thereof, according to the 
circumstances of the case, with costs ; and such damages 
may be recovered by action on the case, in any court of 
competent jurisdiction, to be brought in the name or names 
of the person or persons interested, whether as patentee, 
assignee, or as grantees of the exclusive right within and 
throughout a specified part of the United States. 

SUITS AT LAW. FOREIGN PATENTS INVALID IF THE INVEN- 
TION IS NOT PUT ON SALE WITHIN EIGHTEEN MONTHS 
FPOM THE DATE OF PATENT. 

Sec. 15. And be it further enacted, That the defendant 
in any such action shall be permitted to plead the general 
* See Section 5, page 65. 



PATENT LAW OF 1836. 61 



issue, and to give this act and any special matter in evi- 
dence, of which notice in writing may have been given to 
the plaintiff or his attorney, thirty days before trial, tending 
to prove that the description and specification filed by the 
plaintiff does not contain the whole truth relative to his in- 
vention or discovery, or that it contains more than is neces- 
sary to produce the described effect ; which concealment or 
addition shall fully appear to have been made for the pur- 
pose of deceiving the public, or that the patentee was not 
the original and first inventor or discoverer of the thing 
patented, or of a substantial and material part thereof 
claimed as new, or that it has been described in some 
public work anterior to the supposed discovery thereof by 
the patentee, or had been in public use or on sale with the 
consent and allowance of the patentee before his application 
for a patent, or that he had surreptitiously or unjustly ob- 
tained the patent for that which was in fact invented or 
discovered by another, who was using reasonable diligence 
in adapting and perfecting the same ; or that the patentee, 
if an alien at the time the patent was granted, had failed 
and neglected, for the space of eighteen months from the 
date of the patent, to put and continue on sale to the pub- 
lic, on reasonable terms, the invention or discovery for which 
the patent issued ; and whenever the defendant relies in his 
defence on the fact of a previous invention, knowledge, or 
use of the thing patented, he shall state, in his notice of 
special matters, the names and places of residence of those 
whom he intends to prove to have possessed a prior know- 
ledge of the thing, and where the same had been used ; in 
either of which cases judgment shall be rendered for the 
defendant with costs : Provided, however, That whenever it 
shall satisfactorily appear that the patentee, at the time of 
making his application for the patent, believing himself to 
be the first inventor or discoverer of the thing patented, the 
same shall not be held to be void on account of the inven- 
tion or discovery, or any part thereof, having been before 
known or used in any foreign country ; it not appearing that 
the same or any substantial part thereof had before been 
patented or described in any printed publication : And pro- 
vided, also, That whenever the plaintiff shall fail to sustain 
his action on the ground that in his specification or claim is 



62 PATENT LAW OP 1836. 



embraced more than that of which he was the first inventor, 
if it shall appear that the defendant had used or violated 
any part of the invention justly and truly specified and 
claimed as new, it shall be in the power of the court to ad- 
judge and award, as to costs, as may appear to be just and 
equitable.* * * * 

PATENTS MAY BE DECLARED VOID. 

Sec. 16. And be it further enacted, That whenever there 
shall be two interfering patents, or whenever a patent or 
application shall have been refused * * * on the ground 
that that patent applied for would interfere with an unex- 
pired patent previously granted, any person interested in 
any such patent, either by assignment or otherwise in the 
one case, and any such applicant in the other case, may 
have remedy by bill in equity ; and the court having cogniz- 
ance thereof, on notice to adverse parties, and other due 
proceedings had, may adjudge and declare either the patents 
void in the whole or in part, or inoperative and invalid in 
any particular part or portion of the United States, accord- 
ing to the interest which the parties to such suit may possess 
in the patent or the inventions patented ; and may also ad- 
judge that such applicant is entitled, according to the prin- 
ciples and provisions of this act, to have and receive a patent 
for his invention, as specified in his claim, or for any part 
thereof, as the fact of priority of right or invention shall, in 
any such case, be made to appear. And such adjudication, 
if it be in favor of the right of such applicant, shall author- 
ize the Commissioner to issue such patent, on his filing a 
copy of the adjudication, and otherwise complying with the 
requisitions of this act: Provided, however, That no such 
judgment or adjudication shall affect the rights of any per- 
son, except the parties to the action, and those deriving title 
from or under them subsequent to the rendition of such 
judgment.* 

COURTS TO HAVE POWERS, ETC. 

Sec. 17. And be it further enacted, That all actions, suits, 
controversies, and cases arising under any law of the United 

* See Section 9, page 66. 



PATENT LAW OF 1836. 63 

States, granting or confirming to inventors the exclusive 
right to their inventions or discoveries, shall be originally 
cognizable, as well in equity as at law, by the circuit courts 
of the United States, or any district court having the powers 
and jurisdiction of a circuit court ; which courts shall have 
power, upon a bill in equity filed by any party aggrieved, 
in any such case, to grant injunctions according to the 
course and principles of courts of equity, to prevent the 
violation of the rights of any inventor as secured to him by 
any law of the United States, on such terms and conditions 
as said courts may deem reasonable : Provided, however, 
That from all judgments and decrees from any such court 
rendered in the premises, a writ of error or appeal, as the 
case may require, shall lie to the Supreme Court of the 
United States, in the same manner and under the same cir- 
cumstances as is now provided by law in other judgments 
and decrees of circuit courts, and in all other cases in which 
the court shall deem it reasonable to allow the same. 



EXTENSION OF PATENTS. 

Sec. 18. And be it further enacted, That whenever any 
patentee of an invention or discovery shall desire an exten- 
sion of his patent beyond the term of its limitation,* he 
may make application therefor, in writing, to the Commis- 
sioner of the Patent Office, setting forth the grounds thereof ; 
and the Commissioner shall * * * cause to be pub- 
lished in one or more of the principal newspapers in the 
City of Washington, and in such other paper or papers as 
he may deem proper, published in the section of country 
most interested adversely to the extension of the patent, a 
notice of such application, and of the time and place when 
and where the same will be considered, that any person may 
appear and show cause why the extension should not be 
granted. And the Secretary of State, the Commissioner of 
the Patent Office, and the Solicitor of the Treasury shall 
constitute a board f to hear and decide upon the evidence 



* See Section 11, page 76, and Section 16, page 79. 
t Repealed — See Section 1, page 71. 



64 PATENT LAW OF 1836. 



produced before them, both for and against the extension, 
and shall sit for that purpose at the time and place desig- 
nated in the published notice thereof. The patentee shall 
furnish a statement, in writing, under oath, of the ascertain- 
ed value of the invention, and of his receipts and expendi- 
tures, sufficiently in detail to exhibit a true and faithful ac- 
count of loss and profit in any manner accruing to him from 
and by reason of said invention. And if, upon a hearing of 
the matter, it shall appear to the full and entire satisfaction 
of said [Commissioner], having due regard to the public in- 
terest therein, that it is just and proper that the term of the 
patent should be extended, by reason of the patentee, with- 
out neglect or fault on his part, having failed to obtain, from 
the use and sale of his invention, a reasonable remuneration 
for the time, ingenuity, and expense bestowed upon the 
same, and the introduction thereof into use, it shall be the 
duty of the Commissioner to renew and extend the patent, 
by making a certificate thereon of such extension, for the 
term of seven years from and after the expiration of the 
first term ; * * * and thereupon the said patent shall 
have the same effect in law as though it had been originally 
granted for the term of twenty-one years ; and the benefit 
of such renewal shall extend to assignees and grantees of 
the right to use the thing patented, to the extent of their 
respective interests therein : Provided, however, That no ex- 
tension of a patent shall be granted after the expiration of 
the term for which it was originally issued. 
Sec. 19. [Relates to books, etc., for a library.] 
Sec. 20. [Relates to the classification, and public exhibi- 
tion of models, etc., in the Patent Office.] 

Sec. 21. [Relates to actions and cases sued or pending 
under previous laws.] 

Approved July 4, 1836. 



PATENT LAW OF 1837. 65 



PATENT LAW OF 1837. 

[Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, relate to means for obtaining new 
copies of the patents, records, and models, which were de- 
stroyed by the burning of the Patent Office in December, 
1836. Only a small portion of the old patents and models 
were ever obtained under this act.] 

A PATENT MAT BE DIVIDED INTO SEVERAL SEPARATE PATENTS. 

Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That whenever a patent 
shall be returned for correction and reissue, under the 
thirteenth section of the act [of 1836] to which this is ad- 
ditional, and the patentee shall desire several patents to be 
issued for distinct and separate parts of the thing patented, 
he shall first pay, in manner and in addition to the sum 
provided by that act, the sum of thirty dollars for each ad- 
ditional patent so to be issued. 

ASSIGNMENTS, DRAWINGS, ETC. 

Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That any patent here- 
after to be issued may be made and issued to the assignee 
or assignees of the inventor or discoverer, the assignment 
thereof being first entered of record, and the application 
therefor being duly made, and the specification duly sworn 
to by the inventor. And in all cases hereafter the applicant 
for a patent shall be held to furnish duplicate drawings, 
whenever the case admits of drawings, one of which to be 
deposited in the office, and the other to be annexed to the 
patent, and considered a part of the specification. 

DISCLAIMERS. 

Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That whenever any 
patentee shall have, through inadvertence, accident, or mis- 
take, made his specification of claim too broad, claiming 
more than that of which he was the original or first inventor, 
some material and substantial part of the thing patented 
being truly and justly his own, any such patentee, his ad- 
ministrators, executors, and assigns, whether of the whole or 
of a sectional interest therein, may make disclaimer of such 
parts of the thing patented as the disclaimant shall not 



66 PATENT LAW OF 1837. 



claim to hold by virtue of the patent or assignment, stating 
therein the extent of his interest in such patent ; which dis- 
claimer shall be in writing, attested by one or more wit- 
nesses, and recorded in the Patent Office, on payment by the 
person disclaiming, in manner as other patent duties are 
required by law to be paid, of the sum of ten dollars. And 
such disclaimer shall thereafter be taken and considered as 
part of the original specification, to the extent of the in- 
terest which shall be possessed in the patent or right 
secured thereby, by the disclaimant, and by those claiming 
by or under him, subsequent to the record thereof. But no 
such disclaimer shall affect any action pending at the time 
of its being filed, except so far as may relate to the question 
of unreasonable neglect or delay in filing the same. 



Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That whenever appli- 
cation shall be made to the Commissioner for any addition 
of a newly discovered improvement to be made to an exist- 
ing patent, or whenever a patent shall be returned for cor- 
rection and reissue, the specification of claim annexed to 
every such patent shall be subject to revision and restric- 
tion, in the same manner as are original applications for 
patents ; the Commissioner shall not add any such improve- 
ment to the patent in the one case, nor grant the reissue in 
the other case, until the applicant shall have entered a dis- 
claimer, or altered his specification of claim in accordance 
with the decision of the Commissioner ; and in all such cases 
the applicant, if dissatisfied with such decision, shall have 
the same remedy, and be entitled to the benefit of the same 
privileges and proceedings as are provided by law in the 
case of original applications for patents. [See change as to 
additional improvements, law of 1861, page 75, section 9.] 

VALIDITY OF PARTS OP THE PATENT. 

Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, (any thing in the fif- 
teenth section of the act to which this is additional to the 
contrary notwithstanding,) That whenever, by mistake, ac- 
cident, or inadvertence, and without any wilful default or 
intent to defraud or mislead the public, any patentee shall 



PATEXT LAW OF 1837. 67 

have, in his specification, claimed to be the original and first 
inventor or discoverer of any material or substantial part 
of the thing patented, of which he was not the first and 
original inventor, and shall have no legal or just right to 
claim the same, in every such case the patent shall be deemed 
good and valid for so much of the invention or discovery 
as shall be truly and bona fide his own : Provided, It shall 
be a material and substantial part of the thing patented, and 
be definitely distinguishable from the other parts so claimed 
without right as aforesaid. And every such patentee, his 
executors, administrators, and assigns, whether of a whole 
or of a sectional interest therein, shall be entitled to maintain 
a suit at law or in equity on such patent for any infringe- 
ment of such part of the invention or discovery as shall be 
bona fide his own as aforesaid, notwithstanding the specifi- 
cation may embrace more than he shall have any legal right 
to claim. But in every such case in which a judgment or 
verdict shall be rendered for the plaintiff, he shall not be 
entitled to recover costs against the defendant, unless he 
shall have entered at the Patent Office, prior to the com- 
mencement of the suit, a disclaimer of all that part of the 
thing patented which was so claimed without right : Pro- 
vided, however, That no person bringing any such suit shall 
be entitled to the benefits of the provisions contained in 
thi3 section who shall have unreasonably neglected or de- 
laved to enter at the Patent Office a disclaimer as aforesaid. 



Repealed. Related to model agents.] 

Relates to clerks and copying.] 

Relates to refunding of money in rejeected 



Sec. 10. 
Sec. 11. 
Sec. 12. 
cases, which by the law of 1861, section 9, is forbidden.] 

OATH OR AFFIRMATION, 

Sec. 13. And be it farther enacted, That in all cases in 
which an oath is required by this act, or by the act to which 
this is additional, if the person of whom it is required shall 
be conscientiously scrupulous of taking an oath, affirmation 
may be substituted therefor. 

Sec. 14. [Relates to salaries and expenses of the Patent 
Office, Commissioner's report, etc.] 

Approved March 3, 1837. 



68 PATENT LAW OF 1839. 



PATENT LAW OF 1839. 

Sec. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, relate to employes at the Patent Office, 
expenses thereof, patent lists, and books. 

FOREIGN INVENTIONS MAY BE PATENTED IF NOT PUBLICLY 
INTRODUCED PRIOR TO THE APPLICATION. 

Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That no person shall 
be debarred from receiving a patent for any invention or 
discovery, as provided in the act approved on the fourth 
day of July, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-six, to 
which this is additional, by reason of the same having been 
patented in a foreign country more than six months prior to 
his application: Provided, That the same shall not have 
been introduced into public and common use in the United 
States prior to the application for such patent : And pro- 
vided, also, That in all cases every such patent shall be lim- 
ited to the term of fourteen* years from the date or publi 
cation of such foreign letters patent. 

MACHINES, ETC., MADE PRIOR TO THE PATENT MAY BE CON- 
TINUED IN USE AFTER ISSUE OF THE PATENT. 

Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That every person or 
corporation who has, or shall have, purchased or construct- 
ed any newly invented machine, manufacture, or composi- 
tion of matter, prior to the application by the inventor or 
discoverer for a patent, shall be held to possess the right to 
use, and vend to others to be used, the specific machine, 
manufacture, or composition of matter so made or pur- 
chased, without liability therefor to the inventor, or any 
other person interested in such invention ; and no patent 
shall be held to be invalid by reason of such purchase, sale, 
or use, prior to the application for a patent as aforesaid, ex- 
cept on proof of abandonment of such invention to the pub- 
lic, or that such purchase, sale, or prior use, has been for 
more than two years prior to such application for a patent. 

Sec. 8. [Relates to fees for recording, since changed.] 

Sec. 9. [Relates to agricultural statistics.] 

* Changed to seventeen years by the law of 1S61. See page 79, 
section 16. 



PATENT LAW OF 1839. 69 



CONTESTED CASES. 

Sec. 10. And be it further enacted, That the provisions 
of the sixteenth section of the before-recited act (law of 
1836) shall extend to all cases where patents are refused for 
any reason whatever, either by the Commissioner of Patents 
or by the Chief-Justice of the District of Columbia, upon 
appeals from the decision of said Commissioner, as well as 
where the same shall have been refused on account of, or 
by reason of, interference with a previously existing patent ; 
and in all cases where there is no opposing party a copy of 
the bill shall be served upon the Commissioner of Patents, 
when the whole of the expenses of the proceeding shall be 
paid by the applicant, whether the final decision shall be in 
his favor or otherwise. 



Sec. 11. And be it further enacted, That in cases where 
an appeal is now allowed by law from the decision of the 
Commissioner of Patents * * * the party, * * * 
shall have right to appeal to the Chief-Justice of the District 
Court of the United States for the District of Columbia, by 
giving notice thereof to the Commissioner, and filing in the 
Patent Office, within such time as the Commissioner shall 
appoint, his reasons of appeal, specifically set forth in writ- 
ing, and also paying into the Patent Office, to the credit of 
the patent fund, the sum of twenty-five dollars. And it 
shall be the duty of said Chief-Justice, on petition, to hear 
and determine all such appeals, and to revise such decisions 
in a summary way, on the evidence produced before the 
Commissioner, at such early and convenient time as he 
may appoint, first notifying the Commissioner of the time 
and place of hearing, whose duty it shall be to give notice 
thereof to all parties who appear to be interested therein, 
in such manner as said judge shall prescribe. The Commis- 
sioner shall also lay before the said judge all the original 
papers and evidence in the case, together with the grounds 
of his decision, fully set forth in writing, touching all the 
points involved by the reasons of appeal, to which the revi- 
sion shall be confined. And at the request of any party 
interested, or at the desire of the judge, the Commissioner 



70 PATENT LAW OF 1842. 



and the examiners in the Patent Officer may be examined, 
under oath, in explanation of the principles of the machine, 
or other thing, for which a patent in such case is prayed for. 
And it shall be the duty of the said judge, after a hearing 
of any such case, to return all the papers to the Commis- 
sioner, with a certificate of his proceedings and decision, 
which shall be entered of record in the Patent Office ; and 
such decision, so certified, shall govern the further proceed- 
ings of the Commissioner in such case : Provided, however, 
That no opinion or decision of the judge in any such case 
shall preclude any person interested in favor or against the 
validity of any patent which has been, or may hereafter be, 
granted, from the right to contest the same in any judicial 
court, in any action in which its validity may come in ques- 
tion. 

Sec. 12. [Relates to rules in contested cases, and to ex- 
aminers, but has been changed.] 

Sec. 13. [Relates to fees to the justice.] 

Approved March 3, 1839. 



PATENT LAW OF 1842. 

Section 1. [Authorizes the refunding of money paid by 
mistake in certain cases.] 

Sec 2. [Relates to patent records that were destroyed by 
fire in 1836.] 

Sec 3. [Repealed.] 

TAKING THE OATH IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

Sec 4. And be it further enacted, That the oath required 
for applicants for patents may be taken, when the applicant 
is not, for the time being, residing in the United States, be- 
fore any minister plenipotentiary, charge d'affaires, consul, 
or commercial agent holding commission under the govern- 
ment of the United States, or before any notary public of 
the foreign country in which such applicant may be. 

PENALTY FOR STAMPING UNPATENTED ARTICLES. 

Sec 5. And be it further enacted, That if any person or 
persons shall paint, or print, or mould, cast, carve, or en- 



PATENT LAW OF 1848. 71 

grave, or stamp upon any thing made, used, or sold by him, 
for the sole making or selling which he hath not, or shall 
not have, obtained letters patent, the name, or any imita- 
tion of the name of any other person who hath, or shall 
have, obtained letters patent for the sole making and vend- 
ing of such thing, without consent of such patentee, or his 
assigns or legal representatives ; or if any person, upon any 
such thing not having been purchased from the patentee, or 
some person who purchased it from or under such patentee, 
or not having the license or consent of such patentee, or 
his assigns or legal representatives, shall write, paint, print, 
mould, cast, carve, engrave, stamp, or otherwise make or 
affix the word " patent," or the words " letters patent," or 
the word ''patentee," or any word or words of like kind, 
meaning, or import, with the view or intent of imitating or 
counterfeiting the stamp, mark, or other device of the pa- 
tentee, or shall affix the same, or any word, stamp, or de- 
vice of like import, on any unpatented article, for the pur- 
pose of deceiving the public, he, she, or they, so offending, 
shall be liable for such offence to a penalty of not less than 
one hundred dollars, with costs, to be recovered by action 
in any of the circuit courts of the United States, or in any 
of the district courts of the United States having the pow- 
ers and jurisdiction of a circuit court ; one half of which 
penalty, as recovered, shall be paid to the patent fund, and 
the other half to any person who shall sue for the same. 

Sec. 6. [Repealed.] 

Approved August 29, 1842. 



PATENT LAW OF 1848. 

THE COMMISSIONER TO EXTEND PATENTS. 

Be it enacted, etc., * * * That the power to extend pa- 
tents, shall hereafter be vested solely in the Commissioner 
of Patents ; and when an application is made to him for the 
extension of a patent, * * * he shall refer the case to the 
principal examiner having charge of the class of inventions 
to which said case belongs, who shall make a full report to 



12 PATENT LAWS OF 1848, 1849, 1852. 



said Commissioner of the said case, and particularly whether 
the invention or improvement secured in the patent was new 
and patentable when patented ; * * * but no patent shall 
be extended for a longer term than seven year3. 

Sec. 2. [Relates to record fees — since changed.] 

Sec. 3. [Relates to clerks and copying.] 

Sec 4. [Relates to Patent Reports, etc.] 

Approved May 27, 1848. 



PATENT LAW OF 1849. 

And he it further enacted, That the Secretary of the Inte- 
rior shall exercise and perform all the acts of supervision 
and appeal in regard to the office of Commissioner of Pa- 
tents, now exercised bv the Secretarv of State. 



PATENT LAW OF 1852. 

JUDGES TO HEAR APPEALS. 

Be it enacted, etc., That appeals provided for in the elev- 
enth section of the act, (law of 1839.) * * * may also be 
made to either of the assistant judges of the Circuit Court of 
the District of Columbia ; and all the powers, duties, and 
responsibilities imposed by the aforesaid act, and conferred 
upon the chief judge, are hereby imposed and conferred 
upon each of the said assistant judges. 

Sec. 2. And he it further enacted, That in case appeal 
shall be made to the said chief judge, or to either of the 
said assistant judges, the Commissioner of Patents shall pay 
to such chief judge, or assistant judge, the sum of twenty- 
five dollars, required to be paid by the appellant into the 
Patent Office by the eleventh section of said act, on said 
appeal. 

Sec. 3. [Repeals a former section relating to a fee to the 
justice.] 

Approved August 30, 1852. 



PATENT LAW OP 1861. 



PATENT LAW OF 1861. 

COMMISSIONER TO ISSUE SUBPC3NAS, ETC. 1 

Be it enacted, etc. y That the Commissioner of Patents may 
establish rules for taking affidavits and depositions required 
in cases pending in the Patent Office, and such affidavits 
and depositions may be taken before any justice of the peace 
or other officer authorized by law to take depositions to be 
used in the courts of the United States, or in the State 
courts of any State where such officer shall reside ; and in 
any contested case pending in the Patent Office it shall be 
lawful for the clerk of any court of the United States for 
any district or Territory, and he is hereby required, upon 
the application of any party to such contested case, or the 
agent or attorney of such party, to issue subpoenas for any 
witnesses residing or being within the said district or Terri- 
tory, commanding such witnesses to appear and testify be- 
fore any justice of the peace, or other officer as aforesaid, 
residing within the said district or Territory, at any time 
and place in the subpoena to be stated ; and if any witness, 
after being duly served with such subpoena, shall refuse or 
neglect to appear, or, after appearing, shall refuse to testify, 
(not being privileged from giving testimony,) such refusal or 
neglect being proved to the satisfaction of any judge of the 
court whose clerk shall have issued such subpoena, said 
judge may thereupon proceed to enforce obedience to the 
process, or to punish the disobedience in like manner as any 
court of the United States may do in case of disobedience to 
process of subpoena ad testificandum issued by such court ; 
and witnesses in such cases shall be allowed the same com- 
pensation as is allowed to witnesses attending the courts of 
the United States : Provided, That no witness shall be re- 
quired to attend at any place more than forty miles from 
the place where the subpoena shall be served upon him to 
give a deposition under this law : Provided also, That no 
witness shall be deemed guilty of contempt for refusing to 
disclose any secret invention made or owned by him : And 
provided, further, That no witness shall be deemed guilty of 
contempt for disobeying any subpoena directed to him by 
virtue of this act, unless his fees for going to, returning 



PATENT LAW OF 1861. 



from, and one day's attendance at the place of examina- 
tion shall be paid or tendered him at the time of the service 
of the subpoena. 

EXAMINERS- IN-CHIEF. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That for the purpose 
of securing greater uniformity of action in the grant and 
refusal of letters patent, there shall be appointed by the 
President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
three examiners-in-chief, at an annual salary of three thou- 
sand dollars each, to be composed of persons of competent 
legal knowledge and scientific ability, whose duty it shall 
be, on the written petition of the applicant for that purpose 
being filed, to revise and determine upon the validity of de- 
cisions made by examiners when adverse to the grant of 
letters patent ; and also to revise and determine in like 
manner upon the validity of the decisions of examiners in 
interference cases, and when required by the Commissioner 
in applications for the extension of patents, and to perform 
such other duties as may be assigned to them by the Com- 
missioner ; that from their decisions appeals may be taken 
to the Commissioner of Patents in person, upon payment 
of the fee hereinafter prescribed ; that the said examiners-in- 
chief shall be governed in their action by the rules to be 
prescribed by the Commissioner of Patents. 

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted. That no appeal shall be 
allowed to the examiners-in-chief from the decisions of the 
primary examiners, except in interference cases, until after 
the application shall have been twice rejected. * * * 

Sec. 4. [Relates to salaries.] 

RETURN OP MODELS. 

Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That the Commissioner 
of Patents is authorized to restore to the respective appli- 
cants, or when not removed by them, to otherwise dispose 
of such of the models belonging to rejected applications as 
he shall not think necessary to be preserved. The same 
authority is also given in relation to all models accompany- 
ing applications for designs. He is further authorized to 



PATENT LAW OF 1861. 



dispense in future with models of designs when the design 
can be sufficiently represented by a drawing. 

Sec. 6. [Repeals agencies for models.] 

Sec. 7. [Relates to clerks.] 

PAPERS MUST BE PROPERLY PREPARED. 

Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That the Commissioner 
may require all papers filed in the Patent Office, if not cor 
rectly, legibly, and clearly written, to be printed at the cost 
of the parties filing such papers ; and for gross misconduct 
he may refuse to recognize any person as a patent agent, 
either generally or in any particular case ; but the reasons 
of the Commissioner for such refusal shall be duly record- 
ed, and subject to the approval of the President of the 
United States. 

NO MONEY RETURNED ON REJECTED CASES. 

Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That no money paid as 
a fee on any application for a patent after the passage of 
this act shall be withdrawn or refunded ; nor shall the fee 
paid on filing a caveat be considered as part of the sum re- 
quired to be paid on filing a subsequent application for a 
patent for the same invention. 

That the three months 7 notice given to any caveator in 
pursuance of the requirements of the twelfth section of the 
act of July fourth, eighteen hundred and thirty-six, shall 
be computed from the day on which such notice is depos- 
ited in the post-office at Washington, with the regular time 
for the transmission of the same added thereto, which time 
shall be indorsed on the notice ; and that so much of the 
thirteenth section of the act of Congress, approved July 
fourth, eighteen hundred and thirty-six, as authorizes the 
annexing to letters patent of the description and specifica- 
tion of additional improvements, is hereby repealed, and in 
all cases where additional improvements would now be ad- 
missible independent patents must be applied for. 

SCHEDULE OF OFFICIAL FEES. 

Sec. 10. And be it further enacted, That all laws now in 
force fixing the rates of the Patent Office fees to be paid, 



7Q rxS.TEXT LAW OF 1861. 



and discriminating between the inhabitants of the United 
States and those of other countries which shall not dis- 
criminate against the inhabitants of the United States, are 
hereby repealed, and in their stead the following rates are 
established : 

On filing each caveat, ten dollars. 

On filing each original application for a patent, except 
for a design, fifteen dollars. 

On issuing each original patent, twenty dollars. 

On every appeal from the examiners-in-chief to the Com- 
missioner, twenty dollars. 

On every application for the reissue of a patent, thirty 
dollars. 

On every application for the extension of a patent, fifty 
dollars ; and fifty dollars, in addition, on the granting of 
every extension. 

On filing each disclaimer, ten dollars. 

For certified copies of patents and other papers, ten 
cents per hundred words. 

For recording every assignment, agreement, power of at- 
torney, and other papers, of three hundred words or under, 
one dollar. 

For recording every assignment and other papers over 
three hundred and under one thousand words, two dollars. 

For recording every assignment or other writing, if over 
one thousand words, three dollars. 

For copies of drawings, the reasonable cost of making 
the same. 

PATENTS FOR DESIGNS. 

Sec. 11. And be it further enacted, That any citizen or 
citizens, or alien or aliens, having resided one year in the 
United States, and taken the oath of his or their intention 
to become a citizen or citizens, who by his, her, or their 
own industry, genius, efforts, and expense, may have in- 
vented or produced any new and original design for a man- 
ufacture, whether of metal or other material or materials, 
and original design for a bust, statue, or bas-relief, or com- 
position in alto or basso relievo, or any new and original 
impression or ornament, or to be placed on any article of 



PATENT LAW OP 1861. 77 



manufacture, the same being formed in marble or other ma- 
terial, or any new and useful pattern, or print, or picture, 
to be either worked into or worked on, or printed or painted 
or cast, or otherwise fixed on any article of manufacture, 
or any new and original shape or configuration of any art- 
icle of manufacture, not known or used by others before 
his, her, or their invention or production thereof, and prior 
to the time of his, her, or their application for a patent 
therefor, and who shall desire to obtain an exclusive prop- 
erty or right therein to make, use, and sell, and vend the 
same, or copies of the same to others, by them to be made, 
used, and sold, may make application in writing to the Com- 
missioner of Patents, expressing such desire ; and the Com- 
missioner, on due proceedings had, may grant a patent 
therefor, as in the case now of application for a patent, for 
for the term of three and one half years, or for the term of 
seven years, or for the term of fourteen years, as the said 
applicant may elect in his application : Provided, That the 
fee to be paid in such application shall be for the term of 
three years and six months, ten dollars ; for seven years, 
fifteen dollars ; and for fourteen years, thirty dollars : And 
provided, That the patentees of designs under this act 
shall be entitled to the extension of their respective pa- 
tents, for the term of seven years from the day on which 
said patents shall expire, upon the same terms and restric- 
tions as are now provided for the extension of letters pa- 
tent. 

APPLICATIONS MUST BE COMPLETED WITHIN TWO YEARS. 

Sec. 12. And be it further enacted, That all applications 
for patents shall be completed and prepared for examina- 
tion within two years after the fiilng of the petition, and in 
default thereof they shall be regarded as abandoned by the 
parties thereto, unless it be shown, to the satisfaction of 
the Commissioner of Patents, that such delay was unavoid- 
able ; and all applications now pending shall be treated as 
if filed after the passage of this act ; and all applications 
for the extension of patents shall be filed at least ninety 
days before the expiration thereof, and notice of the day 



> PATENT LAW OF IS 61; 



set for the hearing of the case shall be published, as now 
required by law, for at least sixty days. 

PATENTED ARTICLES TO BE STAMPED. 

Sec. 13. And be it further enacted, That in all cases 
where an article is made or vended by any person 
the protection of letters patent, it shall be the duty of such 
person to give sufficient notice to the public that said art- 
icle is so patented, either by hxing thereon the wc i 
tented, together with the cay and year the patent was 
granted, or when, from the character of the article patent- 
ed, that may be impracticable, by env ne or more 
of the said articles, and affixing a label to the package, or 
otherwise attaching thereto a label, on which the notice, 
with the date, is printed ; on failure of which, in any suit 
for the infringement of letters patent by the party failing 
so to mark the article the right to which is infringed upon, 
no damage shall be recovered by the plaintiff, except on 
proof that the defendant was duly notified of the infringe- 
ment, and continue:! after such notice to make or vend the 
article patented. * * * 

PATENTS MAY BE PRINTED. 

Sec. 14. And be ft farther enacted, That the Commis- 
sioner of Patents be, and he is hereby, authorized to print, 

or in his discretion to cause to be pointed, ten copies of the 
description and claims of ail patents which may hereafter 
be granted, and ten copies of the drawings of the same, 
when drawings shall accompany the patents : Pr 
The cost of priming the text of said descriptions and 
claims shall not exceed, exclusive of stationery, the sum of 
two cents per hundred words for each of said copies, as I 
the cost of the drawing shall not exceed fifty cents per 
copy ; one copy of the above number shall be printed on 
parchment, to be affixed to the letters patent ; the work 
shall be under the direction, and subject to the approval, 
of the Commissioner of Patents, and the expense of the 
said copies shall be paid for out of the patent fund. 

Sec. 15. And be it further enacted, That printed copies 



PATENT LAWS OF 1861 AND 1863. 79 

of the letters patent of the United States, with the seal of 
the Patent Office affixed thereto, and certified and signed 
by the Commissioner of Patents, shall be legal evidence of 
the contents of said letters patents in all cases. 

PATENTS GRANTED FOR SEVENTEEN YEARS. EXTENSIONS PRO- 
HIBITED. 

Sec. 16. And be it further enacted, That all patents 
hereafter granted shall remain in force for the term of sev- 
enteen years from the date of issue ; and all extension of 
such patents is hereby prohibited. 

Sec. 17. And be it further enacted, That all acts and 
parts of acts heretofore passed, which are inconsistent with 
the provisions of this act, be, and the same are hereby, re- 
pealed. 

Approved March 2, 1861. 



PATENT LAW OF 1863. 

Sec. 1. [Repeals the renewal of oath.] 
Sec. 2. [Relates to clerks, etc.] 

DATING OF PATENTS. 

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That every patent 
shall be dated as of a day not later than six months after 
the time at which it was passed and allowed, and notice 
thereof sent to the applicant or his agent. And if the final 
fee for such patent be not paid within the said six months 
the patent shall be withheld, and the invention therein de- 
scribed shall become public property as against the appli- 
cant therefor :* Provided, That, in all cases where patents 
have been allowed previous to the passage of this act, the 
said six months shall be reckoned from the date of such 
passage. 

Approved March 3, 1863. 

* Modified. See law of 1865. 



80 



PATENT LAW OF 1865. 



PATENT LAW OF 1865. 

FORFEITED APPLICATIONS MAY BE REVIVED. 

Be it enacted, That any person having an interest in an 
invention, whether as inventor or assignee, for which a pa- 
tent waa ordered to issue upon the payment of the final 
fee, as provided in section three of an act approved March 
third, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, but who has failed 
to make payment of the final fee as provided in said act, 
shall have the right to make an application for a patent for 
his invention the same as in the case of an original appli- 
cation, provided such application be made within two years 
after the date of the allowance of the original application : 
Provided, that nothing herein shall be so construed as to 
hold responsible in damages any persons who have manu- 
factured or used any article or thing for which a patent 
aforesaid was ordered to issue. 

This act shall apply to all cases now in the Patent Office, 
and also to such as shall hereafter be filed ; and all acts or 
parts of acts inconsistent with this act are hereby repealed. 

Approved March 3, 1S65. 



PRESSURE AND TEMPERATURE OP 
STEAM. 



Pressure 


Corresponding 


Pressure 


Corresponding 


Pressure 


Corresponding 


in lbs. 


Temperature, 


in lbs. 


Temperature, 


in lbs. 


Temperature, 


per gq. in. 


Fahrenheit. 


per sq. in. 


Fahrenheit. 


per sq. in. 


Fahrenheit. 


10 


192.4 


65 


301.3 


140 


357.9 


15 


212.8 


70 


306.4 


150 


363.4 


20 


228.5 


75 


311.2 


160 


368.7 


25 


241.0 


80 


315.8 


170 


373.6 


3) 


251.6 


85 


320.1 


180 


378.4 


35 


260.9 


90 


324.3 


190 


3S2.9 


40 


269.1 


95 


328.2 


200 


3S7.3 


45 


276.4 


100 


332.0 


210 


391.5 


50 


283.2 


110 


339.2 


220 


395.5 


55 


289 3 


120 


345.8 ! 


230 


399.4 


60 


295 6 


130 


352.1 


240 


4 3.1 





WHERE TO GO FOR PATENTS. 




[From The Scientific American.] 

RELATING- TO PATENTS. 

T may be well for parties 
who are interested in new 
inventions to remember that 
our firm of Munn & Co. have 
taken out far more patents, 
and have, therefore, had 
much greater experience in 
the profession, than any other 
agency in the world. Those 
who confide their business to 
us may therefore rely upon 
having it done in the best 
nanner on the most mod- 
erate terms. 

In addition to these advantages, we make it a general rule 
to assist the interest of our clients by giving publicity in 
the form of editorial notices, of all the new and meritorious 
inventions that are patented through our agency. The fact 
that we have carefully studied these improvements during 
the process of preparing the patent papers, enables us to 
speak knowingly in regard to their best features. The pub- 
licity thus given to inventions, owing to the immense cir- 
culation of The Scientific American among intelligent 
readers, is often of the utmost benefit to patentees. In 
some cases it has engaged the active cooperation of enter- 
prising capitalists and manufacturers, in patents which other- 
wise would have remained dead, and has resulted in the 
most important pecuniary advantages to inventors and pa- 
tentees, as hundreds of them are ready to testify ; although 
the sum total of our charges for preparing their patent pa- 
pers has rarely exceeded the small amount of twenty-five 
dollars. Whatever carping, jealous, or envious persons, or 
little agents, may say to the contrary, we are justified in 
affirming that all who really wish to promote their own in- 
terests will do well to employ The Scientific American 
Patent Agency. 



82 



DRAWING PUMP-RODS NAILS. 



[From The Scientific American.] 

TOOL FOR DRAWING BROKEN PUMP-RODS. 

We publish herewith an illustration 
of a very convenient little tool for 
drawing broken pump-rods or drills 
for oil-wells, which have slipped down 
out of reach. It is simply an iron 
ring, a, with a bail, 6, on it, having a 
thread tapped in the square top, c. 
There are two pawls, c?, in the ring, 
jointed so that they move easily, and 
of such length that they will be about 
one fourth of an inch less in diameter 
than the size of the broken rod. When 
this apparatus is let down, the pawls slip over the rod, and 
when the whole apparatus is lifted by a rope or wire, the 
pawls bite on the broken drill or other object, and hold it 
firmly, so that there is no escape. This tool is cheaply 
made, and will be found serviceable. 




ALL ABOUT NAILS. 

The following table will show any one, at a glance, the 
length of the various sizes, and the number of nails in a 
pound. They are rated, " 3-penny up to 20-penny." The 
first column gives the number, the second the length in 
inches, and the third the number per pound. That is : 

3-penny, 

4-penny, 

5-penny, 

G-penny, 

7-penny, 

8-penny, 

10-penny, 

12-penny, 

20-penny, 

Spikes, 

Spikes, 

Spikes, 

Spikes, 

Spikes, 

From this table an estimate 

job of work can be easily made. 



1 inch, 


557 nails. 


1 3^ inches, 


353 nails. 


1% inches, 


232 nails. 


2 inches, 


167 nails. 


2^ inches, 


141 nails. 


2>£ inches, 


101 nails. 


2X inches, 


6S nails. 


3 inches, 


54 nails. 


&% inches, 


34 nails. 


4 inches, 


1G nails. 


4)4 inches, 


12 nails. 


5 inches, 


10 nails. 


6 inches, 


7 nails. 


7 inches, 


5 nails. 


of quantity and suitable 


sizes for any 



MECHAXICAL MOVEMENTS. 83 



MECHANICAL MOVEMENTS. 

In the construction of models, or machinery, the skilful 
mechanic and inventor will study to avoid clumsiness in the 
arrangement of parts, and will naturally take pride in se- 
lecting, as far as possible, the simplest and best forms of 
mechanical movements. 

To this end we have thought that nothing could be more 
suggestive or useful than a comprehensive exhibition of 
many of the best mechanical forms already known. 

After much labor and expense, we have brought together, 
condensed and engraved expressly for this work, one of the 
most extensive series of mechanical movements ever before 
published. 

Here the mechanic may find at a glance the movement 
suited for his purpose, and may see the separate parts best 
adapted to any special combination of mechanism. 

As these engravings are not readily to be found elsewhere, 
we recommend the careful preservation of this book. 



DESCRIPTION OP THE MECHANICAL 
MOVEMENTS BY NUMBERS. 

1. Cylinder Coupling. Serves to connect the cylindrical 
ends of two shafts. 

2. Claw Coupling. Cross-pieces are mounted on the ends 
of the shafts ; the ends of one of these cross-pieces turned ; 
and if the two shafts are brought close enough together, the 
ends or claws of the last-named cross-piece catch over the 
edge of the first cross-piece, and compel the same with its 
shaft to rotate. 

3. Lever Coupling. On the driving shaft, a disk with 
spurs is mounted, and to the shaft to be driven a lever is 
hinged. By causing this lever to catch in the spurs of the 
disk, the coupling is effected. 

4. Spur Coupling. Similar to Xo. 3. 

5. Knee Coupling will be understood from figs. 5 and 26, 
the latter being a side elevation of this device. 

6. Universal Joint. Serves to connect shafts running in 
oblique directions. 



84 MECHANICAL MOVEMENTS. 

V and 8. Coupling constructed of two disks with spurs, 
and intervening sleeve with radiating bolts ; the disks are 
secured to the adjoining ends of the shafts to be coupled, 
and their spurs catch from opposite sides on the radiating 
bolts. 

9 to 12 are devices for throwing machinery in or out of 
gear. 

9. The Bayonet, composed of a drum, which revolves 
freely, on the shaft being turned by a belt, and not allowed 
to shift in a longitudinal direction. It is provided with two 
spurs. The prongs of the bayonet pass freely through 
holes in a drum, which is firmly keyed to the shaft. By 
moving the bayonet toward the revolving drum, its prongs 
catch behind the spurs of said drum, and cause the shaft to 
revolve. 

10. The fast and loose pulleys require no further explana- 
tion. 

11. Sliding Gear. The journal-boxes of one of the 
wheels are movable, allowing to throw said wheel in and 
out of gear. 

12. Friction Clutch. By lightening or releasing a steel 
band, encircling a pulley on the shaft, the machinery is 
thrown in or out of gear. 

13 and 14. Brakes: 

13. Brake by means of levers ana shoes. The shoes are 
pressed up against the circumference of the wheel. 

14. Friction Brake, by a strap which passes round the 
wheel, and can be drawn up tight by means of a weight 
secured to the end of a lever, and supported, if the brake* is 
not in use, by a hook-catch. A suitable rope serves to re- 
lease the weight, and to put on the brake. 

15 and 16. Devices for converting motion by means of 
sheaves, whereby the direction of the rectilinear motion is 
changed. 

17. Spiral Flange on a shaft, to convert rectilinear motion 
produced by a constant power acting in a rectilinear direc- 
tion, into a revolving motion. 

18, 19, and 20. Devices for converting reciprocating rec- 
tilinear into rotary motion. 

18. The reciprocating rod connects with links which are 



MECHANICAL MOVEMENTS. 85 

provided with pawls, catching into ratchet-teeth in the 
wheel, to which a rotary motion is to be imparted. When 
the rod moves in one direction, one of the pawls acts ; and 
when the rod moves in the opposite direction, the other 
pawl acts in the same direction as the first. 

19. The reciprocating rectilinear motion of a rod is con- 
verted into a continous rotary motion of the fly-wheel by a 
weight suspended from a cord, which passes over a small 
pulley that connects with a treadle, from which the motion 
is transmitted to the fly-wheel. 

20. Represents a device constructed on the principle of 
" flying horses," used in fairs for amusement. By pulling 
the cords radiating from the crank, the persons occupying 
the seats or horses on the ends of the arms are enabled to 
keep the apparatus in motion. 

21 and 22. Devices for converting reciprocating rectili- 
near into reciprocating circular motion. 

23 and 24. Devices for converting continuous rotary 
into continuous rectilinear motion, the former by a differential 
screw, and the latter by cog-wheels and double rack. 

25. Quadrat Coupling. The ends of the two shafts are 
square, and united by a square sleeve. 

26. Race Coupling, Side elevation of the coupling re- 
presented by fig. 5. 

27. Device for throwing a machine in and out of gear, 
consisting of a sliding pulley, with spurs which catch on 
arms extending from the shaft, and rigidly attached thereto. 

28. Roller-Brake, which consists of roller mounted in an 
elbow-lever, and arranged so that it can be made to bear on 
a strap, and to cause the same to transmit motion from one 
shaft to the other. If the tightening pulley is taken off, the 
driven shaft stops. 

29. Chain and Cham- W heel for converting rectilinear 
into circular motion, or vice versa. 

30. Converting Reciprocating Rectilinear into Reciprocat- 
ing Circular Motion, by means of two toothed racks, gear- 
ing on opposite sides into an intermediate cog-wheel. 

31. Cog-WIieels with oblique teeth. 

32. Worm and Worm-Wheel. These two devices are in- 
tended to convert continuous rotary into continuous rotary 



86 MECHANICAL MOVEMENTS. 

motion, or to transmit motion from one shaft to another 
sln\ft running in a different direction. 

33 and 34. Coupling with Claws. A lever hinged to a 
disk-wheel is mounted on the end of one shaft ; is so ar- 
ranged that it can be thrown in gear with notches in a disk 
secured on the end of the other shaft. 

35 and 36. Coupling consisting of two plates or disks, 
one of which is provided with two projections, and the 
other with corresponding cavities. 

37. Coupling consisting of two disks, which are secured 
together by means of screw-bolts. 

38. Coupling for vertical shafts. 

39. Coupling for Vertical Shafts, in which the upper 
shaft is provided with a square socket, to drop on the cor- 
responding square end of the lower shaft. 

40. Coupling for Vertical Shafts, in which the lower shaft 
is provided with a fork, and the upper with a projection to 
extend in the fork. 

41. Friction Clutch — is a face-view of the device shown 
in Fig. 12. 

42. Friction Cone — explains itself. 

43. Friction Gear — requires no further explanation. 

44. Self releasing Coupling — consists of two disks with 
oblique teeth. If the resistance to the driven shaft in- 
creases beyond a certain point, the disks separate. 

45. Hoisting Apparatus, or device for converting contin- 
uous rectilinear motion into continuous rectilinear motion 
in another or parallel direction. 

46. Device for changing motion by a bell-crank lever. 

47. Device for converting continuous rectilinear motion 
jnto rectilinear reciprocating motion, by means of a zigzag 
groove. 

48. Device for converting continuous rectilinear into con- 
tinuous rotary motion by chain-wheel and chain. 

49. Device for converting rectilinear reciprocating into 
continuous rotary motion — will be understood from the 
drnwing. 

50. Device for the same purpose as the previous figure. 

51. Device for converting rectilinear reciprocating into 
continuous rotary motion by means of a reciprocating dou- 



MECHANICAL MOVEMENTS. 87 



ble rack, the teeth of which are in different planes, and gear 
into pinions mounted side by side on the fly-wheel shaft. 
Said pinions connect with the shaft by ratchet-wheels and 
pawls, so that when the double rack moves in one direction, 
one of the pinions is rigid with the shaft ; and when the 
rack moves in the opposite direction, the other pinion is 
rigid, and a continuous rotary motion is imparted to the fly- 
wheel shaft. 

52. Device for converting reciprocating rectilinear into 
reciprocating revolving motion by means of a rack and 
pinion. 

53. Device for converting continuous revolving into recti- 
linear reciprocating motion. A series of pins projecting 
from the side of revolving plate, act on a lip projecting from 
the under surface of a carriage, which rolls back and forth 
on wheels. By the action of the pins on this lip, the car- 
riage is moved in one direction, and by the action of said 
pins on an elbow-lever, it is moved in the opposite direction. 

54. Device for raising the vertical rod, and imparting to 
it an intermittent rising and falling motion. Commonly 
used in stamp-mills and other works. 

55. Device for imparting a reciprocating rectilinear 
motion to a toothed rack. 

56. Device for imparting a reciprocating rectilinear mo- 
tion to a bar by means of an eccentric pin projecting from 
the side of a revolving disk, and catching in an oblong slot. 

57. Device for converting reciprocating rotary into con- 
tinuous rotary motion — consists of the ordinary working- 
beam and fly-wheel. 

58. Device for imparting to a pump-rod, or other portion 
of a machine, a reciprocating rectilinear motion by an ec- 
centric disk, mounted on the fly-wheel shaft, and acting on 
friction- rollers, secured to the rod or frame — will be fully 
understood by referring to Figs. 81 and 104. 

59. Ordinary crane for hoisting. 

60. Friction Gear, being side and plan views of 43. 

61. Device for converting continuous rotary into recipro- 
cating rectilinear motion by the action of a pinion, the axle 
of which slides up and down in a slotted frame, and which 
acts on the endless rack. 



88 MECHANICAL MOVEMENTS. 

G2. By the action of a revolving cam, a rising and falling 
or a reciprocating rectilinear motion is imparted to a sta- 
tionary drum. 

63. Device for imparting a reciprocating rectilinear mo- 
tion to a frame by means of an internal endless rack, and a 
revolving pinion. 

64. Device for imparting a reciprocating rectilinear mo- 
tion to a toothed rack by a toothed segment secured to a 
lever-arm, which is subjected to the action of a weight, and 
of an eccentric wristpin, projecting from the side of a re- 
volving disk. 

65. Device for imparting a reciprocating rectilinear mo- 
tion to a rod, from which is suspended a rocking-lever, con- 
necting with eccentric wristpins. The wheels are of differ- 
ent diameters, and consequently the rod has to rise and fall 
as the wheels revolve. (See also Fig. 110.) 

66. Device for converting continuous revolving into reci- 
procating rectilinear motion by an eccentric and elbow- 
lever. 

67. Heart-shaped Gam — applied to impart to a rod a reci- 
procating rectilinear motion. 

68. Converting continuous revolving into rectilinear reci- 
procating motion, by an endless segmental rack and pinion, 
the axle of which revolves and slides in a slot toward and 
from the centre of the segmental rack. This rack is secured 
to a disk, and a rope wound round said disk, and secured to 
the body to which a reciprocating motion is to be imparted, 
serves to produce the desired effect. 

69. Elliptic or oval gear. 

70. Bevel gear. 

71. Worm and Worm-Wheel. 

72. Device for transmitting motion from one axle to an- 
other^ with three different velocities, by means of toothed 
segments of unequal diameter. 

73. Device for converting continuous revolving into reci- 
procating revolving motion by a cam-disk acting on an oscil- 
lating lever. 

74. Device for imparting an intermittent revolving motion 
to a shaft on which are mounted two pinions, which gear 



MECHANICAL MOVEMENTS. 89 



alternately into a segmental gear-wheel, mounted on the 
end of the driving-shaft. 

75. Device for converting reciprocating revolving into con- 
tinuous rectilinear motion by an oscillating lerer, carrying 
two pawls which engage with ratchet-teeth cut into the 
edges of a bar to which the rectilinear motion is to be im- 
parted. 

76. Device for converting reciprocating revolving into reci- 
procating rectilinear motion, by an oscillating lever, which 
connects by a link with the rod to which a rectilinear mo- 
tion is to be imparted. 

77. Device for converting reciprocating revolving into con- 
tinuous revolving motion, by an oscillating lever, carrying 
two pawls, which gear in the teeth of a ratchet-wheel. 

78. Common Treadle, for the purpose of converting oscil- 
lating into continuous rotary motion. 

7- 1 . Combination of revolving and rectilinear motions, in- 
tended for the purpose of describing on a revolving cylin- 
der a spiral line of a certain given pitch, which depends 
upon the comparative sizes of the pinion and bevel-wheels. 

80. Device for marking a spiral line in which the graver 
is moved by a screw. 

81. The motion of the eccentric disk produces a rising 
and falling motion of the frame. (See Fig. 58.) 

82. Reciprocating motion of a Plunger. 

83. Reciprocating motion of a Cross-Head. 

84:. Reciprocating rectilinear motion of a rod guided by 
friction-rollers. 

85. Device for converting continuous revolving into 
reciprocating rectilinear motion, by means of roller-arms, 
extending from a revolving shaft, and acting on lugs pro- 
jecting from a reciprocating frame. 

86. Ordinary crank motion. 

87. Reciprocating motion, produced by the action of a 
toothed wheel on a spring bar. 

88. Rising and falling motion of a hammer or weight 
suspended from a rope which is secured to a drum that 
turns freely a shaft. The shaft carries a tappet, which 
catches against a hook hinged to the drum, so as to carry 
said drum along and raise the weight. When the drum has 



90 MECHANICAL MOVEMENTS. 



reached its highest position, the shank of the hook strikes 
a stationary pin, and thereby the hook is caused to disengage 
from the tappet, and the weight drops. 

89. A reciprocating motion is imparted to a rod by means 
of a groove in an oblique ring secured to a revolving shaft. 

90. Double- crank motion. 

91. Cam groove in the periphery of a drum, to produce 
a reciprocating motion of a rod or weight. 

92. Transmitting motion by means of belts and pulleys. 

93. Transmitting motion by pulleys, belts, and internal 
gear. 

94. Device for converting continuous rotary into intermit- 
tent rotary motion by a rod suspended from a crank and 
carrying a cog-wheel. As the rod moves up and down, the 
teeth of the cog-wheel come in contact with a pawl, and an 
intermittent rotary motion is imparted to said wheel. 

95. Device for transmittting motion from two axles to 
another by intervening bevel-wheels. By turning the hori- 
zontal axles with different velocities, the middle wheel is 
caused to revolve with the mean velocity. 

96. Device for converting reciprocating circular into con- 
tinuous circular motion by the action of an oscillating lever 
on a cam groove in the side of a disk. 

97. Lazy tongs for elevating, etc. 

98. Device for converting reciprocating revolving into 
rectilinear revolving motion by the action of an oscillating 
segment from which a belt extends over two pulleys. 

99. Device which is also intended for converting oscillat- 
ing into reciprocating rectilinear motion by a cam-slot in 
the end of the oscillating lever, which catches over a pin 
projecting from one of the sides of a parallelogram which 
is connected to the rod to which a reciprocating motion is 
to be imparted. 

100. Device for converting the oscillating motion of a 
working beam into the continuous rotary motion of a fly- 
wheel and its shaft. 

101. Device for converting the oscillating motion of a 
treadle into continuous rotary motion of a crank-shaft and 
an oscillating motion of a pulley. 

102. Double-acting Working Beam. 



MECHANICAL MOVEMENTS. 91 

103. Single-dating Working Beam. 

104. Device for converting continuous revolving into 
intermittent rectilinear motion by an eccentric disk acting 
between two friction-rollers, as described under Figures 58 
and 81. 

105. Device which serves to steady the piston of an engine 
or pump by the action of a slotted guide-piece, which is 
operated upon by an eccentric on the driving-shaft. 

106. Device for imparting a rectilinear motion to a pump- 
rod by two toothed segments. 

107. Device for imparting a rectilinear motion to a piston- 
rod by two cog-wheels of equal diameter, provided with a 
crank of the same length, and connecting by links with a 
cross-bar to which the piston-rod is secured. 

108. Device for a rectilinear motion of a piston-rod based 
on the hypocycloidal motion of a pinion in a stationary 
wheel with internal gear. If the diameter of the pinion is 
exactly equal to one half the diameter of the internal gear, 
the hypocycloid becomes a right line. 

109. Is similar in construction to the device shown in 
Figure 56, and used for the same purpose. 

110. Device for converting continuous revolving into re- 
ciprocating rectilinear motion. The rod shown on top, to 
which a rectilinear motion is to be imparted, is moved up 
and down by the action of two crank-pins secured in wheels 
of different diameters, and connecting by suitable rods with 
a cross-beam. The rod receives a double motion, the nature 
of which depends upon the proportion between the diameter 
of the two cog-wheels. 

111. Device for transmitting revolving motion by a circu- 
lar sliding pinion gearing in an elliptical cog-wheel. 

112. Device for converting continuous revolving into reci- 
procating revolving motion — is similar to the device shown 
in Figure 96. The lever is provided with a cam groove to 
receive a pin projecting from the revolving disk. 



MECHANICAL MOVEMENTS. 



93 



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MECHANICAL MOVEMENTS. 




90 HOW TO LAY UP AN 

SOUTHERN PATENTS. 
A correspondent, residing in Georgia, states that he 
took out a United States patent previous to the rebellion, 
and desires to know how his rights have been affected by 
the attempted secession of his State. For the general ben- 
efit of all patentees residing at the South, we remark that 
they are still valid, and all who hold them can exercise the 
same rights in them as before the rebellion ; provided such 
patentees or assignees are not excluded by the terms of the 
President's Amnesty Proclamation, or the Confiscation laws 
passed by Congress. 



ZINC, 

When cold, is very brittle, but when heated to within a 
certain range of temperature, it becomes quite malleable, 
and may be rolled into thin sheets. It retains the mallea- 
bility thus acquired after it becomes cold. It is a curious 
fact that, if this metal be carried beyond the range of tem- 
perature alluded to. it becomes brittle again. When in this 
range, it becomes ductile, as well as malleable. The dis- 
covery of these facts has introduced this metal to very 
numerous valuable uses. 



[From The Scientific American.] 
HOW TO LAY UP AN EIGHT-STKABTD 

GASKET. 
Many an engineer who makes his own packing is con- 
tented to use a simple three-strand, loosely-plaited gasket, 
for all purposes whatever, from packing a simple governor- 
valve-stem, up to the piston rod, or air-pump bucket. Be- 
Fig. 1. 




EIGHT-STRAND GASKET. 



97 



lieving as we do that an eight-strand gasket is much superior 
to the ordinary kind, that it will wear longer, is a better 
shape to conform to its situation, and that it requires less 
compression from the gland to bring it up against the rod, 




we have here illustrated the gasket itself, and also the prin- 
ciple of laying it up. We have endeavored to make both 
the article and engravings simple and clear, and hope that 
the practical engineer will derive some benefit from our ex- 
position. 

Fig. 1 is the gasket as it appears finished, and imme- 
diately below, in Fig. 2, is given the first step toward 
forming it. 

The operator takes eight strands, as shown. These are 
tied in the centre, and numbered, for the convenience of 
the reader, from 1 to 8. 



98 



HOW TO LAY UP AN 




In Fig. 3 we have the two strands, 3 and 4, crossed under 
5 and 6, and the thumb and forefinger of the left hand re- 
presented as closing upon these strands to retain them in 
place. In Fig. 4 we have the real commencement of plait- 
ing the gasket, and here is the point where the principle is 
first employed. This principle is that the strand, whatever 
one it may be the operator has hold of, must pass under all 
the strands, and over two strands. This is the key to the 
whole matter. It must also be borne in mind that the top 
strand of all on each side, is the one to be taken hold of 
alternately. In Fig. 4, the finger and thumb of the right 
hand are shown grasping the strand No. 8 ; the left hand 
being supposed to hold the crossed strands. Now look at 
the hand that grasps strand No. 8 ; it is inserted between 



EIGHT-STEAXD GASKET. 



99 




strands 2 and 5 and is behind all the strands except 1 and 2 ; 
therefore, when strand No. 8 is brought under all the strands 
except 1 and 2, and over strands 5 and 6, it will appear as 
in Fig. 6, where strand No. 8 is shown drawn around, but 
not up to its place ; the fingers of the right hand grasp it, 
and the left hand keeps the crossed ones, 3, 4, 5, 6, to- 
gether. 

In the next figure, which is 6, the strand No. 8 is shown 
loosely drawn up to its place; the operators hand going 
under all the strands for No. 1. This strand is to be 
brought under and behind all the other strands, and in be- 
tween strands 3 and 4 where the hand enters, and thence 
over 3 and 8, as shown in Fig. 7. Thus the principle of 
this gasket is illustrated, for it is only necessary to go be- 



100 



HOW TO LAY UP AN 




tween each alternate set of strands on either side — to take 
the topmost strand alternately, and to lay it over two strands, 
to make a hard, firm, and even piece of packing. 

Some engineers prefer to use a central core of india-rub- 
ber plaiting the strands over and about it, so that the rub- 
ber, exerts its elastic force, but is not injured by the heat 
and grease of the machinery. This can be done very easily 
with the eight-strand gasket by merely allowing the rubber 
to occupy a central position between the strands, four on 
one side and four upon the other ; the rubber must be cut 
square and to the proper size, and when it is overlaid with 
the strands it should be larger than the recess in the stuffing 
box, so that it will have to be compressed in order to get it 



EIGHT-STRAXD GASKET. 



101 



Fia.6 




in ; it will then tend to cling about the rod and wear a long 
time with good usage. 

Let the beginner not be discouraged at the first trial if he 
does not succeed, for the process is, in reality, a simple one, 
and inexperienced persons have made gaskets from these 
drawings at the first trial. The gasket should be laid up 
while reading this description, and we hope all points are 
made clear and simple, so that a little practice will, as in all 
other cases, render the braiding of a square gasket as easy 
as one of three strands. 



102 



EIGHT-STRAND GASKET. 




To the Editors of TJie Scientific American : 

In your inestimable publication, exclusive of the valuable 
information which it constantly conveys to the studious 
mind, I often find remarks which — to use a plain expres- 
sion — " hit the nail on the head." I now find, on page sev- 
enty-one of the present volume, these lines : " The greatest 
discoveries have been made in leaving the beaten tracks 
of science and going into the by-paths. Let inventors mark 
this sentiment well." Permit me to say that, in my opin- 
ion, there are many, like myself, who will consider that the 
above sentiment is the truth well spokenin a few words. 

New- Orleans, La. John H. Martinstein. 



PRACTICAL GEOMETRY. 



103 



PRACTICAL GEOMETRY. 

A knowledge of geometry, both practical and theoretical, 
is of importance to mechanics and inventors. It is pro- 
motive of truth and patience in mental habits, and leads to 
the exercise of nicety and exactness in the execution of 
mechanical labors. With a pair of dividers, a rule and 
pencil, any person may speedily acquire a considerable 
knowledge of practical geometry. We subjoin a few sim- 
ple and generally useful problems for practice, in the hope 
of thus interesting some of our readers in the subject, so 
that they will continue the study. Complete works on geo- 
metry can be had at the book-stores. 



it 



< 



V 



<$w 



Problem 1. — To divide a line into 
equal parts. — To draw a line perpen- 
dicular to another : With a pair of di- 
viders from the extremities of the line 
A B as centres, with any distance ex- 
ceeding the point where the line is to 
be intersected, describe arcs cutting 
each other as m n ; then a line drawn 
through m n will divide the line A B 
equally, and will also be perpendicular 
thereto. 



Problem 2. — To find the side of a 
square that shall be any number of 
times the area of a given square : 
Let A B C D be the given square ; 
then will the diagonal B D be the side 
of a square A E F G, double in area 
to the given square A B C D ; the di- 
HTE~ B A agonal B D is equal to the line A G ; 

if the diagonal be drawn from B to G, it will be the side of 
a square AHKL, three times the area of the square A B 
CD; the diagonal B L will equal the size of a square four 
times the area of the square A B C D, etc. 




104 



PRACTICAL GEOMETRY. 




Problem 3. — To find the diameter 
of a circle that shall be any number 
of times the area of a given circle : 
Let A B C B be the given circle; 
draw the two diameters A B and C D 
at right angles to each other, and the 
cord A D will be the radius of the 
circle o P, twice the area of the given 
circle nearly ; and half the cord will 
be the radius of a circle that will contain half the area, etc. 



Problem 4. — To describe 
an ellipsis, the transverse 
and conjugate diame:: 
bag given : From o. a? a 
b difference 
of the transverse and con- 
jugate semi-diameters, set 
t and o d ; draw the 
! nal c d y and continue 
the line o c to A\ by the addition of fa -agonal t d, 

then will the distance o k be the radius of the centres that 
will describe the ellipsis : draw the hues A B. C P, C E. 
and B H, cutting the semi-diameters of the ellipsis in the 
centres /; B m n ; then with the radius m *, and with l\ 
and m as centres, describe the arcs P H and A E ; also, 
with the radius n r, and with n and B as centres, describe 
the arcs E H and A H, and the figure A E P H will be the 
ellipsis required. 




The "Scientific American." — "It is hardly necessary 
for us to speak of its merits to those who are thoroughly 
posted up in the improvements of the age ; but the general 
reading public may not be so well aware that it contains the 
finest engravings of all the late inventions — the new moni- 
tors, army and navy weapons, vessels, forts, machinery of 
all kinds, military and civil, mechanical and agricultural — 
with essays from the most distinguished scholars upon prac- 



ACIDS. 105 

tical philosophy, chemistry, and engineering. It is indis- 
pensable to every inventor. It is useful for every family 
and housewife. In short, it i3 the best scientific and me- 
chanical journal in the world, and we cannot see how any 
chemist, architect, engineer, farmer, or mechanic can do 
without it. Munn & Co., Publishers, 37 Park Row, New- 
York. ' ' — Cots C 'o u n ty Rep u h Ucan, 



VELOCITIES. 
A heavy body falling from a height, for instance from a 
balloon, falls during the first second sixteen and a twelfth 
feet, three times as far the next, five times as far the next, 
and so on, with increasing velocity, in the ratio of the suc- 
cessive odd numbers seven, nine, etc. ; hence it will fall 
twelve hundred feet in nine seconds, and three miles in 
thirty-one and one third seconds. A cannon-ball fired per- 
pendicularly ascends with decreasing but falls with increas- 
ing velocity, and describes each portion of its path upward 
and downward, respectively, in identically the same period 
of time. 

ACIDS. 

As most oxyds are formed by the union of oxygen with 
metals, so most acids come from its union with substances 
which are not metallic. Thus aqua fortis, or nitric acid, is 
composed of oxygen and nitrogen ; oil of vitriol, or sul- 
phuric acid, of oxygen and sulphur ; phosphoric acid, of 
oxygen and phosphorus, etc. And as oxygen unites in dif- 
ferent proportions with a metal to form different oxyds, so 
it does with each of the metalloids, nitrogen, sulphur, etc., 
to form different acids. We have, therefore, nitrous and 
nitric acids, sulphurous and sulphuric acids, etc. When the 
name ends in ous, the acid has a less quantity of oxygen 
than when it ends in ic, — Hooker. 



CAKBOIf. 
All the varieties of coal — anthracite, bituminous coal, etc. 
— are nearly pure carbon. Plumbago or black-lead — called 
graphite by the mineralogist — contains not a particle of 
lead, but is crystallized carbon, having commonly a very 
little iron mingled with it. 



106 PROPERTIES OF CHARCOAL. 



PBOPERTIES OP CHAKCOAIi. 

Although charcoal is so combustible, it is, in some re- 
spects, a very unchangeable substance, resisting the action 
of a great variety of other substances upon it. Hence posts 
are often charred before being put into the ground. Grain 
has been found in the excavations at Herculaneum, which 
was charred at the time of the destruction of that city eigh- 
teen hundred years ago, and yet the shape is perfectly pre- 
served, so that you can distinguish between the different 
kinds of grain. While charcoal is itself so unchangeable, 
it preserves other substances from change. Hence meat and 
vegetables are packed in charcoal for long voyages, and the 
water is kept in casks, which are charred on the inside. 
Tainted meat can be made sweet by being covered with it. 
Foul and stagnant water can be deprived of its bad taste 
by being filtered through it. Charcoal is a great decolor- 
izer. Ale and porter filtered through it are deprived of 
their color, and sugar-refiners decolorize their brown syrups 
by means of charcoal, and thus make white sugar. Animal 
charcoal, or bone-black, is the best for such purposes, al- 
though only one tenth of it is really charcoal, the other 
nine tenths being the mineral portion of the bone. 

Charcoal will absorb, of some gases, from eighty to nine- 
ty times its own bulk. This constitutes a protection to 
substances which are covered with charcoal ; for gases are 
the grand agents in decay. The question arises as to what 
gives this power of absorption to charcoal. It is generally 
supposed that is owing to its great porousness. Charcoal 
is full of minute spaces, and is therefore intersected by 
numberless partitions. If these were spread out, they 
would constitute a surface, perhaps a thousand times larger 
than the external surface of the charcoal. As every point 
of this surface is a point of attraction, it is supposed to 
account for the enormous accumulation of gases in the 
spaces of the charcoal. But this accounts for it only in 
part. There must be some peculiar power in the charcoal 
to change, in some way, the condition of a gas of which it 
absorbs ninety times its own bulk. And, besides, it seems 
to show some sort of affinity for certain substances, in sep- 
arating them from others. — Hooker. 



NEW-TOE K AND WASHINGTON. 107 


HEW-YQJLK AXD WASHINGTON. 


There are perhaps no two cities in this coutitry to which 


inventors and patentees are more frequently called, in the 


course of business, than New-York and Washington. For 


the convenience of our inventive friends, we subjoin a list 


of the principal objects and places of interest, which they 


should endeavor to see whenever they visit either place. 


Inventors will always be welcome at our offices in Xew-York 


or Washington ; and we hope they will k * walk in n without 


knocking. We shall be happy to give them any informa- 


tion. (See page 13.) 


WASHINGTON-PLACES OF INTEREST. 


Arsenal. 


National Observatory 


Alexandria, Va. 


Navy Yard. 


Aqueduct. 


Navy Department. 


Battle-fields of Bull Pain. 


Potomac Fails. 


Congressional Cemetery. 


Presidential Mansion and Gardens. 


Capitol and Grounds. 


Patent Office. 


Georgetown Hrisrhts. 


Scientific American Office. 


General Post-Office. 


Smithsonian Institute. 


Government Insane Asylum. 


Soldier's Home. 


Government Green-Houses. 


Treasury Department. 


Jackson's Statue. 


"War Department. 


Long Bridge. 


"Washington Monument. 


Mount Vernon. 


Washington's Statues. 


NEW-YOEK.-PLACES OF INTEREST. 


Academy of Music. 


Greenwood Cemetery. 


Academy of Design. 


High Bridge. 


Asylum for the Blind 


Hoboken. 


Astor Library. 


Navy Yard. 


Atlantic Docks. 


Post-Office. 


Battery. 


Scientific American Office. 


Bible House. 


Sub- Treasury. 


BlackwelFs Island. 


South Street. 


Central Park. 


States Island. 


City Hall. 


Tombs. 


Cooper Institute. 


Trinity Church. 


Croton Reservoir. 


United States Custom House. 


Dry Dock. 


"Washington Monument. 


Fort Hamilton. 


Worth Monument. 


Fort Lafayette. 


Wall Street. 


Governor's Island. 


Washington Market. 



GENERAL INDEX. 



Acids, 105 

Alcohol, Force of, 85 

Amendments, 23 

Appeals, 24, 69, 72, 74 

Application for Patents, 5, 77 

Arsenic, 34 

Assignments,.. 7, 29, 30, 31, 32, 65 
Assignees, Rights of,.. 26, 29, 30, 32 

Austrian Patents, 41 

Belgian Patents, 41 

Bishop, Hon. W. D., letter, 18 

British Patents, 41 

Caveats, 8, 33, 59 

Charcoal, Properties of, 106 

Chemical Inventions, 51 

Circle, Problems, 44 

Commissioners, Letters of, 18 

Contested Cases, 69 

Copies of Patents, 15, 54 

Copyrights, 14 

Courts, Powers of, 62 

Cuban Patents, 41 

Designs, 14, 76 

Disclaimers, 27, 65 

Drawings, 22, 65 

Electric Spark, 19 

Electric Conductors, 46 

Examinations, 6, 23, 56 

Examiners-in-Chief, 74 

Extension of Patents '28, 63, 71 

Fees, Official, Table of, 76 

Forfeited Cases, 10, 80 

Foreign Patents, 29, 40 

French Patents, 41 

General Information, 7, 33 

Going to Washington, 15 

Gaskets, how to lay, 96 

Geometry, Practical, 103 

Heat Conductors, 50 

Heat, Effects of, Table, 20 

Heirs of Inventor, Rights of,. . .58 
Hints to Letter-Writers, ... .38, 52 

Holt, Hon. J., Letter, 18 

Horse Power, 49 

How to Invent, 3 

How to Obtain Patents 5, 9 

How to Sell Patents 42 

Income from Patents, 44 

Information, Official 33 

Infringements, 16 

Sterferences, fc . 25, 57 
1-4 ) 17 1 — 



Invention, What it is, .21 

Inventor, Rights of, 13, 29 

Nails, Table of Sizes, 82 

New- York, Places of Interest,. 107 

Novelty of Inventions, 34 

Oath, to Patents, 22, 67, 70 

Official Rules, Patent Office, . . .21 

Ownership in Patents, 9 

Partnership in Inventions, 9 

Patent Laws of the U. S., 53 

Patent Office, Rules, 21, 53 

Patents, How to Obtain, . . .5, 9, 13 

Patents, How to Sell, 42 

Patents, Value of, 45 

Patents, Validity of, 66 

Patents on Small Things,. . . 45 

Patents to Foreigners, 50 

Patents may be Divided, 26, 65 

Patentee, Rights of, 30 

Penalty for Stamping, 70 

Power of Water, 49 

Principle, Claims for, 22 

Priority of Invention,. . .21, 25, 57 

Prussian Patents, 41 

Pump Rods, Tool for, 82 

Quick Applications, 13 

Reissues, 26, 59, 66 

Rejected Applications, ..10, 33, 75 

Remittances, 11 

Royalty, 44 

Rules, Patent Office, 21 

Russian Patents . . , 41 

Secret Archives, 24 

Sound, 20 

Southern Patents, 96 

Spanish Patents 41 

Specification, the 22, 33 

Steam Engine, the 37 

Steam, Pressure of, Table, 80 

Suits, Law Patents, 60 

Tracing Paper, 35 

Use, Prior to Patent, 68 

Useful Hints, 52 

Validity of Patents, 66 

Value of Patents, 45 

Vane, a Sparkling, 46 

Velocities, 105 

Washington, Places of Interest, 107 

What Prevents a Patent, 21 

Where to go for Patents, 81 

Who may obtain Patents, 55 



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